The Devils Inside
by PrinceWolf232
Summary: The Marley Warriors Have A Mission To Complete. It Is Up To Them To Retake The Founder and Obliterate The Eldian Devils On The Island. [AnniexOC] [ReinerxBertholdt] [OCxMIkasa] {Season 1 complete. Season 2 currently in progress} {Season 2 Will go up to the current time in the manga and onwards}
1. Chapter 1

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 1 – Arya Redwolf**

Arya's PoV

 _Gunfire, The Smell Of Gunpowder, My Comrades Being Killed Before My Eyes, Explosions…. That Is All I Have Known For The Past 5 Months, Ever Since I Turned Eight, I Have Been Spending My Time On A War Zone. I Fear My Life Will End As I Huddle In This Trench Next To My Best Friends, We Clutch Our Rifles As Bullets From A Bunker Come Flying Over Our Heads…._

I Am Brought Back To My Senses When Lucan Yells, "Arya!" I Look At Him and I Croak, "What?" He Hugs Me and Whimpers, "You Wouldn't Respond So I Thought…." I Sigh and Reply, "Sorry Lucan" Our Commander Looks At Us and Commands, "Redwolf! Get Up To The Sniper Tower and Try and Take Out The Gunner! We'll Keep You Covered!" I Nod and Answer, "Yes Sir!" and I Run Towards The Sniper Tower While My Unit Draws Their Fire.

Once I Get Up To The Top Of The Tower, I Pull My Rifle Off My Shoulder and I Line Up The Shot. I Rest My Finger On The Trigger I Steady My Breathing and Then I Fire. The Bullet Hits The Gunner Directly In The Head and I Smirk.

I Pull The Bolt Handle Back and The Empty Cartridge Flies Out and Lands On The Wooden Floor and I Place A New Bullet In The Chamber and I Am About To Put My Rifle Back On My Shoulder When I Hear More Gunfire. The Tower Begins To Wobble and I Yelp, "Shit!" When It Collapses.

Theo and Lucan Run Over and Theo Yells, "Arya! Are You Alright?!" I Nod Slowly and I Cough, "Yeah, I'm Alright!" He Nods and They Begin To Move The Wooden Beams. I Crawl Out From Under The Tower and Lucan and Theo Help Me Up and They Take Me Back To The Commander. The Commander Nods At Me and Says, "Well Done On Killing The First Gunner" I Nod and Answer, "Just Doing My Job, Sir" He Nods and I Look Down At My Feet and I See Some Grenades.

I Smirk, and I Say, "Sir? I Have An Idea" He Raises A Brow and I Continue, "If I Walk Up To The Bunker Without My Uniform On and With These Grenades Tied To My Foot Then I Can Distract Them Temporarily and Throw The Grenades Through The Gap" The Commander Hums and He Answers, "Do It" I Nod and I Place My Rifle Down and I Strip From My Uniform and I Tie The Grenades To My Foot and I Begin Walking Towards The Bunker.

The Soldiers Aim Their Guns At Me and I Stop. I Gulp and I Reach Down Towards My Foot When They All Turn Away To Talk and I Prime Them All and Throw Them. I Spin On My Heel and I Sprint Back Towards The Trench. I Turn Around and I Watch The Bunker Explode.

I Drop Down It The Trench and Theo Yells, "It Worked! We Won! We Can Go Home!" The Commander Smiles and He Says, "That Was A Reckless Plan" I Salute and Say, "Anything To Help Our Motherland, Sir" He Nods and Then Stands Up and Commands, "Alright You Laggards! Time To Head Home!" We All Cheer and I Pull My Uniform On and I Grab My Rifle and Then We All Run To The Train. I Sit Down and I Lean My Head On The Wall and I Finally Let Myself Rest After 5 Months Of No Sleep.

 **Back At Liberio**

I Jump Off The Train and I Search The Platform For My Parents. I Spot Them and I Take Off From The Others. I Collide With My Parents and My Dad Smiles At Me and Murmurs, "We Missed You" I Hug Them Tighter and Mom Picks Me Up and Says, "Did You Get Hurt?" I Shake My Head and Reply, "No Mom" Dad Grins and Asks, "Did You Kick Their Asses?" I Nod, and I Am About To Reply When Mom Hits Dad On The Shoulder and Hisses, "Sarah! Language!" I Chuckle, and I Hear, "Your Daughter Did Very Well. She Was The Reason We Defeated Them, Actually"

Mom Looks At The Commander and Answers, "Thank You For Keeping Our Little Girl Safe" Dad Nods and Agrees, "Yeah. If We Lost Arya…. I Don't Know What We Would Have Done" The Commander Smiles and Replies, "Don't Mention It. Now I Would Suggest Getting The Little One Home and Bathed. She Will Be Required To Collect Her Medals Soon" I Grin and My Eyes Light Up and Mom and Dad Turn Around and Walk Home.

 **At Home**

I Pull On My Clean Uniform After My Bath and Dad Says, "You Look Beautiful, Honey" I Grin and Say, "Thanks Dad" Mom Smiles and She Asks, "Are You Ready To Go?" I Nod and Mom Takes My Hand and We Walk Out With Dad Following Behind.

 **At The Award Ceremony**

I Pull Away From My Parents and Towards My Unit and I Sit Next To Lucan and Theo. The Commander Walks Out Of Stage and Announces, "Now This Is A Big Day For Marley! We Have Finally Defeated One Of The Enemies That We Had Been Fighting For Over 50 Years!" The Crowd Cheers and He Looks Down At Us and He Says, "Now This Wouldn't Have Been Possible Without The Courage and Bravery Of One Of The People In My Unit. Can Arya Redwolf Come Up Here Please?" I Stand Up and I Walk Towards The Stage.

I Stand Next To The Commander and He States, "This Girl, Stripped From Her Uniform and Tied Grenades To Her Foot. She Looked Like A Prisoner Of War, So She Walked Up To The Bunker and While The Enemies Were Distracted, She Primed The Grenades and Threw Them Into The Bunker. The Explosion Was Amazing"

Everyone Gapes At Me and He Places A Medal On My Chest and He Says, "This Girl Is Now A Captain Of Her Unit! Her Unit Will Now Be A Scouting Unit and They Will Gather Information About Our Enemies!" I Grin, and Everyone Cheers, and I Am Sent To Sit Down.

 **24 Years Later – 30** **th** **December 833**

I Sit In The Living Room With Ilia and Leon's Wife Talia and I Ask, "Should We Try Singing To Them?" Talia Nods and Ilia Smiles and Replies, "Yeah" She Clears Her Throat and Begins Singing,

" _She said she gave all her love to me_

 _We dreamt a new life_

 _Some place to be at peace_

 _But things changed, suddenly_

 _I lost my dreams in this disaster_

 _I'm crying_

 _Missing my lover_

 _I don't have the power_

 _On my side forever_

 _Oh, where is my lover?_

 _And I got no power_

 _I'm standing alone, no way_

 _Calling out your name"_

I Feel My Baby Kick and Ilia and Talia Smile and I Ask, "Did Your Babies Kick?" Ilia Nods and Answers, "Yep. I Think She Kicked In Response To Yours" Talia Nods and Agrees, "Yeah. He Kicked In Response To Your Girls" I Grin, and I Say, "It Seems Our Little Ones Have A Connection" Talia Nods and Replies, "It Seems That Way" I Look At The Time and I See It Has Just Turned 3am.

Talia Yelps and I Ask, "Talia?" She Whimpers and Yelps, "My Water Just Broke" I Gulp I Say, "Ilia! Get Leon and The Doctors!" Ilia Nods and Walks Out Of The House. I Lead Talia To The Bedroom That She Shares With Leon and I Lie Her On It. The Doctors Run In A Few Minutes Later With Leon and I Get Shuffled Out Of The Room.

 **3 Hours Later**

Ilia and I Walk Into Talia's Room and I See Her Holding A Small Bundle. I Smile and Ask, "How Is He?" Talia Looks At Us and Whispers, "He's Perfect" Leon Grins and Says, "His Name Is Bertholdt" I Sit Next To Talia and I Stroke The Boys Head Of Dark Hair.

He Grabs Hold Of My Finger and He Sucks On It. I Smile and Ilia Says, "We'll Let You Rest" I Nod and I Pull Away From The Boy and I Say, "Goodnight Bertholdt" He Gurgles, and I Say, "Congratulations You Two" They Smile and I Walk Out and I Walk Towards The Room I Share With Lucan and I Lie Down and I Fall Asleep.

 **3 Months Later – 22** **nd** **March 834 – 5 Hours After Danielle and Annie Had Been Born.**

I Look Down At My Daughter With A Smile and Ilia Walks In With Her Daughter and Danielle Whimpers. Ilia Sits Next To Me and I See Their Small Arms, Absentmindedly Reach For Each Other. I Smile and Say, "These Girls Have A Serious Connection" The Door Opens and Bertholdt Waddles In With His Parents.

Bertholdt Crawls On The Bed and He Asks, "Who Are They?" I Smile and Say, "This Is Danielle and That Is Annie" Bertholdt Smiles Toothily and Ilia Points Out, "It Will Be Your Job To Protect Them, Okay Bert?" He Nods and Asks, "Like A Big Brother?" I Nod and Bertholdt Kisses The Girls Foreheads and Answers, "I'll Be The Best Big Brother Ever"

Talia Grins and Answers, "We Don't Doubt That Bertl. Let's Let Them Rest Now, Okay? You Can See Them Tomorrow" Bertholdt Nods and He Follows His Parents Out. I Smile At Ilia and She Says, "I'll Let You and The Little One Rest" I Nod and She Walks Out. I Place Danielle On The Bed Next To Me and I Stroke Her Cheek and We Both Fall Asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 2: New Rivals**

Danielle's PoV

I Walk Around Liberio With Annie, Bertholdt, Porco and Marcel and I Ask, "Guys? Have You Heard About That Thief That Has Been Roaming Around Stealing From Vendors?" Bertholdt Nods and Answers, "Yeah. They Are Known As Grey Fox. Hard To See and Harder To Catch" I Chuckle, and I Answer, "Imagine How Much Respect We Would Get If One Of Us Caught Them" Marcel Looks At Me and Says, "Don't Do Something Stupid Danielle" I Look At Him "Stupid? Me? Marcel, I'm Offended" I Say Jokingly.

Marcel Rolls His Eyes and Porco Asks, "Are You Going To Go Looking For Them?" I Shrug, and I Say, "Maybe. I Dunno" Bertholdt Is About To Reply When I Hear, "Stop! Thief!" I Send A Grin At My Friends and I Say, "See You Later Guys!" and I Run Off. I Follow The Grey Fox and I Corner Them In An Alley.

I Smirk and Say, "It's Over Grey Fox!" They Look At Me and Snaps, "Let Me Go Kid! Or You'll Get Hurt!" I Laugh and Bark, "Do You Know Who I Am? I'm The Daughter Of Commander Arya Redwolf and Captain Theodore Magath!" Grey Fox Chuckles and Replies, "That Means You'll Be Great For, Ransom So I Can Get Out Of This Godforsaken City" I See A Glint In The Light and I Gulp When My Eyes Land On The Meat Cleaver In Their Hand.

The Grey Fox Walks Forward and They Swing The Cleaver At Me. I Jump Backwards and I Begin Fighting With Them. Grey Fox Smirks and I Let My Guard Down To Try and Pull My Knife Out My Boot and They Slam The Cleaver Into My Stomach. I Yelp and I Manage To Pull The Knife Out and I Stab Them In The Shoulder and Then The Gut.

Grey Fox Smirks and Kicks Me In The Stomach and It Pushes The Cleaver In Further and I Groan In Pain As I Land On The Ground. Grey Fox Walks Over To Me and Stands On My Arm and I Dig My Fingers Into The Dusty Ground As Pain Shoots Through My Body and Sets My Nerves On Fire.

I Hear A Laugh Come From The Person Above Me As My Arm Snaps Out Of Place and They Step On My Shoulder Repeatedly and I Almost Pass Out From The Pain. Grey Fox Smirks and Kicks Me In The Side and I Hear A Rib Snap and I Yelp. Blood Pools On The Ground As It Slides Out Of My Mouth and I Choke. They Grab My Knife and I Try To Turn My Head Away As The Knife Slips and Leaves A Scar Across My Eye.

Grey Fox Begins To Walk Away When I See A Few Blurs Take Her Down and I Hear A Gun Shot. My Eye Blurs As Blood Drips Into It and I Hear, "Holy Shit…. This Is Bad! Bertholdt, Marcel! Go and Get Help! Porco! Help Me Prop Her Up" I Hear Footsteps and I Get Propped Up Against The Wall.

I Spit Blood Out and I Hear, "Danielle?! Hold On!" Blood Gets Wiped From My Eye and I Ask, "Annie? Porco?" Annie Carefully Pulls Me Into A Hug and She Murmurs, "You Idiot" I Chuckle and Say, "Well We Captured Grey Fox, Didn't We?" Porco Nods and I Hear, "Danielle!" I Look Up and I See My Parents and Uncle Lucan.

Dad Lifts Me Up and I Groan In Pain. I Hear Dads Heavy Breathing As He Runs Through The Streets Of Liberio Towards The Hospital and I Pass Out Listening To His Ragged Breaths.

 **A Three Days Later**

I Shoot Up In Bed As Pain Spikes Through My Gut and I Cry Out Into The Darkness Of My Hospital Room. I Feel A Grip Tighten On My Hand and I Look To The Side As My Eyes Adjust To The Darkness and I See A Tired Looking Annie.

She Runs Her Thumb Over My Hand and She Murmurs Comforting Things In My Ear. I Let Out A Shaky Breath and I Say, "I'm Sorry For Waking You" Annie Shakes Her Head and Says, "I Wasn't Asleep Anyway. You Have Been In A Coma For Three Days" I Look At Her and I Ask, "Have You Slept?" Concern Laces My Voice and Annie Shakes Her Head, Her Blonde Hair Falling Out Of Her Bun. I Caress Her Cheek With My Thumb and She Leans Into My Touch.

I Shuffle To The Side A Bit and I Pat The Space Beside Me. Annie Shakes Her Head and Answers, "No" I Send Her A Look and I Say, "Get In The Bed. Now" Annie Lets Out A Tired Sigh and She Climbs Into The Bed With Me.

I Move So She Is Laying Comfortably On My Chest With Her Head Nestled On My Shoulder. I Rub Her Back and She Soon Drifts Off To Sleep. I Keep A Tight Grip On Her and I Close My Eyes Just As The Moonlight Catches A Glint Of Silver From The Corner Of The Room.

 **Hours Later**

Annie's PoV

I Wake Up Snuggled Into A Pillow and I Sit Up In Bed and My Breath Hitches When I Don't See Danielle In Bed. My Heartrate Picks Up and I Launch Myself Out Of The Room. I Sprint Down The Corridor and I Slide Up To The Front Desk, "When Did Danielle Redwolf Check Herself Out?" I Ask With Fear and Exhaustion Lacing My Voice.

The Nurse Raises A Brow and Replies, "She Didn't…. Why?" My Eyes Widen In Fear and I Push Away From The Desk and I Launch Myself Out Of The Building and Towards Bertholdts House. I Knock On The Door and Bertholdt Answers.

I Look At Him and He Asks, "Annie? What's Up?" I Gulp and Say, "Danielle Is Missing. I Stayed With Her In The Hospital and She Wasn't There When I Woke Up. I Think She Has Been Kidnapped By Grey Foxes Gang" Bertholdt Grabs His Jacket and He Says, "I'll Go and Get Porco and Marcel. You Start Searching" I Nod and Be Part Ways.

I Run Down The Streets Of Liberio and I Run Into An Alley and I Hear, "Ah, Miss Leonhardt…." I Look Up and I See Grey Fox Holding A Knife To My Best Friends Throat. Grey Fox Smirks and Chuckles, "We Have A Lot Of Talking To Do, Leonhardt" Danielle Shakes Her Head and The Tape Around Her Mouth Comes Loose and She Yells, "Annie! Run!" I Am Paralysed With Fear As Two Guys Advance Towards Me With Guns and Danielle Breaks Free From Grey Foxes Grasp and She Collides With Me and Snaps, "Get Running! NOW!" I Get The Message and I Try To Pull Her Along But She Shakes Her Head and Murmurs, "Go. I'll Be Fine" Tears Build In My Eyes But I Obey and Run Out Of The Alley.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 3 – We Are Warriors**

Annie's PoV

I Scramble Through The Streets Of Liberio As I Try To Get Away From Grey Foxes Goons and I See Bertholdt, Marcel and Porco Running Towards Me. I Stop Next To Them and I Turn Around To See That The Goons Have Stopped Chasing Me But Have Taken Interest In Scaring A Small Boy Who Bumped Into Them.

I Sigh and Porco Asks, "What Happened?" I Look At Him and I Say, "Danielle Has Been Taken Prisoner By Grey Fox" Their Eyes Widen and The Three Males Yell, "What?!" I Nod and Reply, "I Know. Now Here's What We Are Going To Do. Porco and Marcel, You Will Tail Those Goons Back To Their Base. Bertholdt and I Will Go and Get Danielle's Parents" Porco and Marcel Nod and They Walk Off.

Bertholdt Looks At Me With Fear In His Eyes, "Danielle Will Be Alright…. Won't She?" He Asks Worriedly. I Sigh and Answer, "I Don't Know Bertholdt. With The Shape She's In and With Winter Approaching, I Feel Like Something Bad Will Happen To Her If We Don't Get Help Now" Bertholdt Gulps and I Say, "We Better Hurry" He Nods and We Both Start Sprinting Towards HQ.

Porco's PoV

I Climb Onto A Roof With Marcel Following Behind and I Hear Laughter and Grunts Of Pain Coming From An Open Window. I Drop Quietly Onto The Balcony On The Building and I Look Inside. I See Danielle Tied To A Post While She Is Being Whipped With A Thin Chain Several Times.

I Notice The Other Scars On Her Body and I Make A Move To Run Inside and Save Her. Marcel Grabs My Arm and He Hisses, "Porco…. No" I Look At Marcel and I See Annie, Bertholdt, Captain Magath, Commander Redwolf and Four Soldiers Out Of The Corner Of My Eye. Annie Spots Us and Captain Magath Sends The Four Soldiers Into The Building and He Follows After With Commander Redwolf. Annie and Bertholdt Climb Up To Us and Annie Asks, "Is She Alright?" I Look Down and Answer, "See For Yourself" Annie Walks Into The Building and I Hear A Whimper Leave Her Throat. I Rest My Head On The Wall and I Hide My Face In My Hands Because I Can't Bare To See My Best Friend Beaten Up Like That.

 **Later That Day**

Danielle's PoV

I Try To Get Comfortable On My Hospital Bed and I Hear A Knock At The Door. I Look At The Door and I Say, "Come In" The Door Opens To Reveal Annie, Bertholdt, Porco and Marcel. I Smile Slightly and I Say, "Hey Guys" Annie Is The First To Run Up To Me and Pull Me Into A Hug.

I Push Away The Pain To Hug Her Back and Bertholdt Says, "We Thought You Wouldn't Make It" I Look Away and I Say, "According To The Doctors, If You Guys Had Gotten There Any Later Then I Would Be Dead. I Would Have Bled Out" Annie Buries Her Head Further Into My Neck and Porco Points Out, "Annie, I Think You May Be Hurting Her" Annie Pulls Away and I Mutter, "Don't Worry About It" She Gulps and Sits In The Chair Next To My Bed and Marcel Smiles and Says, "We Will Come and Visit Tomorrow" I Nod and The Three Males Walk Out.

I Look At Annie and She Is Stroking My Good Hand With Her Thumb. I Smile and Ask, "Annie? Are You Alright?" She Looks Into My Eyes and Jokes, "I Should Be Asking You That" I Laugh, Ignoring The Pain In My Body and I Say, "You Don't Have To Stay. Surely Your Father Wants You Home" Annie Shakes Her Head and She Replies, "Father Has Allowed Me To Stay With You In The Hospital Until You've Healed" I Nod and The Nurse Comes In To Close The Curtains and She Walks Out After Bidding Us Goodnight.

Annie's PoV

I Stand Up and I Use All Of Move Strength To Push The Other Bed In The Room, Next To Danielle's. When I Do, I Climbs Onto The Bed and I Lace Our Fingers Together. I Lie On My Side and She Lies Facing Me and Our Eyes Meet and She Mumbles, "Night Annie" I Smile Through The Tears That Are Threatening To Fall and I Answer, "Night Danielle" and I Watch As Danielle Falls Asleep. Keeping Our Fingers Laced Together, I Pull The Sheet Over Me and I Fall Asleep To The Sound Of Danielle's Breathing.

 **A Year Later**

Danielle's PoV

I Shake My Head As The Freezing Cold Rain Beats Down On My Neck and I Hear, "WHO TOLD YOU TO WALK?! RUN, YOU FILTHY DESCENDENTS OF PIGS! OR DO YOU NOT WANT TO BECOME HONORARY MARLEYANS?!" I Run Faster and I Catch Up To Marcel and I Send Him A Grin and We Reach The Top Of The Hill At The Same Time. I Fist Bump Him and I Hear, "MARCEL GALLIARD AND DANIELLE REDWOLF! YOU PASS!" I Grin and Marcel Slings His Arm Around My Neck As We Walk To Dry Off.

 **Target Practice:**

I Lie On My Stomach As I Fire My Rifle and I Smirk When All The Bullets Hit Dead Centre. I Look Over At Bertholdts Target and I See That He Also Hasn't Missed A Shot. I Grin and We Stand Up At The End and Commandeer Magath Looks Through His Binoculars and He Yells, "BERTHOLDT HOOVER AND DANIELLE REDWOLF! YOU PASS!" I Smirk At My Best Friend and He Slings An Arm Around My Neck and We Walk Off.

 **Hand To Hand Combat**

I Dodge The Punches That My Superior Officers Throw At Me and I Smirk and I Kick Both Of Them In Between The Legs and Once They Drop To Their Knees, I Slam Their Faces On My Knees and Two Other Guards Run At Me. I Chuckle and One Of Them Runs At Me and I Swing My Leg Around and He Drops To The Floor Cradling His Ankle. I Smirk and I Floor The Other Guard and I Watch As The Other One Stands Up and I Floor Him Too.

I Look Over At Annie and I Watch As She Floors Some Blonde Kid and I Hear, "ANNIE LEONHARDT AND DANIELLE REDWOLF! IMPECCAPBLE! YOU PASS!" I Walk Over To Annie and She Sends Me A Smirk. I Chuckle and We Walk Off, Leaving The Blonde Kid To Get Himself Up.

 **Written Test**

I Sit Next To Porco and The Blonde Kid Who I've Learned Is Called Reiner and I Look Over At Reiner When I Hear Him Hiss, "Damn It" I Roll My Eyes and I Continue With My Test. After The Test Is Over, Porco and I Meet Up With Annie, Bertholdt, Marcel and Our New Friends Zeke and Pieck.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Devils Inside - Chapter 4 – Not One Of Us**

 **A Few Days Later**

Danielle's PoV

I Stand Next To Annie As I Try To Catch My Breath and Zeke Looks Back At Us and Asks, "Did You Guys Know?" I Raise A Brow and Ask, "Know What?" He Smiles and Continues, "They Say They'll Be Attacking Paradis In Just A Few More Years. The Time Has Come For Us To Inherit The Titans. The War South Will Be Won Soon and The Time For Us To Become Warriors Is Approaching. So, I've Heard They'll Be Reorganizing The Warrior Unit As A Part Of The Army's New Structure. Out Of Us Seven Warrior Candidates, Six Will Be Made Warriors At Once"

I Grin, and I Hear, "I Did It! Now I Can Become A Marleyan!" Porco Scoffs and Grunts, "You Didn't Do Anything. You're Obviously The Weakest In The Group. If One Person's Getting Left Behind, It's Going To Be You." Reiner Looks At Him and Asks, "What Was That?" Porco Smirks and Asks, "What Are You Good At? Are You Strong? Smart? A Good Shot? A Good Fighter? You're None Of Those, Are You? What They Saw In You Was The Loyalty To Marley You Displayed In The Written Tests, Wasn't It?"

Porco Chuckles and Continues, "I Respect You For That. You Make Sure To Lick The Captain's Boots Every Single Day. "Yes Sir, I Promise I'll Kill All Those Island Devils, Sir,"" Reiner Glares At Him and Yells "DON'T YOU KNOW WHO'S ON THAT ISLAND? DEVILS WHO'VE BROUGHT FEAR TO THE ENTIRE WORLD!" Porco Jumps Back Slightly and Gasps, "Whoa…" Reiner Walks Up To Him and Continues, "IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME UNTIL THEY START SLAUGHTERING AGAIN UNLESS WE KILL THEM! ARE YOU INSULTING OUR MISSION?! OR ARE YOU ONE OF THE REMAINING ELDIAN RESTORATIONISTS WHO SUPPORT KING FRITZ?! ADMIT IT! I KNOW IT'S TRUE! I'LL REPORT YOU TO THE CAPTAIN!"

That Triggers Porco and He Growls, "Hey!" He Punches Reiner In The Face and He Barks, "What Is The Matter With You?!" Marcel Grabs His Brother and He Snaps, "Porco, Stop!" Porco Struggles Against His Brothers Hold and He Roars, "Anyone Can Complain About How Much They Hate The Island! You Stay Here and Take Care Of The Place By Yourself For Thirteen Years!"

Porco Pulls Away From His Brother and Walks Off. I Watch Him Leave and He Yells, "Let's Go!" Marcel Looks At Reiner and He Says, "Sorry Reiner" I Begin To Walk Off and I Look Back At Annie and Bertholdt and I Ask, "You Coming?" Bert Shakes His Head and Answers, "We'll Catch Up"

I Nod and I Catch Up To Porco, Pieck, Zeke and Marcel and Zeke Looks Back At Annie, Bertholdt and Reiner and He Snaps, "Come As Soon As He's Done Crying. I'm Gonna Catch Another Beating From Commander Magath If You're Late" Porco Rubs His Fist and I Growl, "That Little Shit" Porco Sighs and Breathes, "Leave It. He Won't Get Chosen" I Shrug, and I Answer, "The Commanders Could Surprise Us and Pick Him Over Any Of Us" Marcel Nods and Answers, "True" Annie and Bertholdt Catch Up To Us With Reiner Trailing Behind and We All Walk Back To HQ.

 **A Few Weeks Later**

Magath's PoV

I Watch As The Warrior Candidates Begin Attacking The Enemy Nation and I Observe Every Titan and I Say, "Wonderful. They Turned Out Even Better Than Expected"

 _ **The Female Titan**_

 _An All-Purpose Unit_ , _Capable In Every Field._

 _In Addition To High Mobility and Endurance, The Titans Hardening Abilities Combined With Leonhardt's Striking Makes For An Incredible Destructive Force._

 _She's Also Able To Summon Pure Titans, Though Her Range Is Limited._

 _As You Can See,_ _ **The Armoured Titan**_ _Is One That Specializes In Hardening Abilities._

 _One Slam Of That Body Should Destroy Both Walls and Doors._

 _As A Titan Who Will Act As Marley's Shield and Absorb Attacks…Well, Braun's Stoic Nature Fits The Role._

I Watch As The Armoured Wolf Titan Barrels Through The Buildings Sending Soldiers and Civilians Flying In All Directions.

 _ **The Armoured Wolf Titan**_ _Is A Titan That Is Difficult To Master. Much Like Its Counterpart It Specializes In Hardening Abilities and Much Like Its Holder, It Isn't Know To Be Friendly To Outsiders. After Many Hours Of Research, It Was Found That This Titan Has A Few Other Abilities Like Fire Breathing and Making Wings Our Of Its Armor._

 _It Can Also Make Weapons Out Of Its Armor, Much Like How The Warhammer Titan Can Make Weapons Out Of Anything. As History Has Stated,_ _A Redwolf Soldier Is Rare So Making Redwolf The Holder Of This Titan May Have Been A Bad Idea But We Need All The Power We Can Get If We Want The Founder In Our Hands._

 _ **The Jaw Titan**_ _Is An Assault Unit._

 _Its Small Size Makes It The Swiftest Of All. It's Powerful Nails and Jaws Can Crush Just About Anything._

 _We Have Entrusted It To The Quick-Witted Marcel_

 _ **The Beast Titan**_ _Is The Same As Ever._

 _It's a Bit Larger Than The Others But A Bit Smaller Than_ _ **The Armoured Wolf Titan**_ _But That's Far From All._

 _Who Would Have Thought That Its Throwing Abilities Could Become Such An Awe-Inspiring Weapon…_

 _Most Of All, There Is The Power Hidden In His Blood_

 _The "Boy Wonder" Has Given Us A Miracle._

 _ **The Cart Titan**_ _, With Its Unusually High Endurance, Is Well Suited To Long Missions. This Allows Us To Equip It With Armaments, Expanding The Variety Of Tactics At Our Disposal._

 _Giving It To Pieck, Who Shows Strong Judgment, Is Surely The Right Move._

 _And_

 _ **The Colossus Titan**_

 _It Is A God Of Destruction._

 _It Almost Makes Me Feel Sympathy For Those Island Devils_

"That Thing Is Going To Show Up One Day Out Of Nowhere and Start Killing Them" I Look Over At My Comrade and I Say, "Yes, Our New Warrior Unit Is More Powerful That It Was In The Past. Training Them Since Infancy Has Paid Off" I Sigh and Continue "But I Still Have Doubts About The Army's Decision. Entrusting The Plan To Retake The Founder To Five Children? It Just Doesn't Seem Sane To Me" He Smirks and Says, "Oh? But Those Very Children, Just Now Crushed An Entire Nation Before Our Eyes. Anyway, You Should Be Proud. Your Daughter Is A Warrior Now" I Nod and We Head Back To Base.

 **Back At Base**

Danielle's PoV

I Stand Next To Annie and Dad States, "Beast, Cartman, You Are Needed Here To Threaten The Enemy Nations Into Submission. You Will Not Participate In This Mission. So, The Plan To Retake The Founder Will Be Carried Out By The Jaw, Armor, Colossus, Female and Armoured Wolf Titans." He Looks At Us and Says, "Danielle, Annie, Marcel, Bertholdt and Reiner. We Leave This To You"

I Lean On The Table and I Hear, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO GET PICKED?! YOU WERE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE GROUP SO WHY WOULD THEY PICK YOU OVER ME?!" I Look At The Two Boys and Reiner Asks, "This Just Means That You Were At The Bottom Of The Group, Eh Pock?" Porco Growls and Screams, "YOU LITTLE- "

I Grab His Wrist and I Say, "Enough. You'll Get Your Shot Porco Just Not This Time." He Looks At Me With A Blazing Fire In His Eyes and Marcel Asks, "Porco? Are You Disobeying The Military's Decision?" Porco Grunts and He Walks Off With Marcel. I Send A Glare At Reiner and He Seems To Cower Under My Gaze.

I Shake My Head and I Walk Over To Porco and I Say, "Are You Alright?" Porco Shakes His Head and He Mumbles, "I Was Sure That It Would Be Me. I Failed Marley…. I've Failed Everyone" I Rest My Hand On His Shoulder and I Say, "You Haven't Failed. Trust Me Porco" He Looks Up At Me and He Stands Up Pulls Me Into A Tight Hug.

I Pat His Back and He Breathes, "Give Those Devils Hell" I Nod and Say, "I Will" He Nods and I Walk Over To Annie After Pulling Away From The Hug. Annie Sends Me A Stoic Look and We Get Taken Outside and Paraded Around Liberio.

 **At The Marleyan Ship**

I Walk Out Of The Crowd and I Hear, "Danielle" I Turn Around and I See Uncle Lucan and Mom. I Smile and Say, "Yeah?" Mom Pulls Me Into A Hug and She Murmurs, "I Love You Darling. I Know You Will Come Home Safe" I Nod and I Pull Away and Uncle Lucan Ruffles My Hair and He Grunts, "Be Safe, Kid" I Nod and I Begin To Walk Away.

Someone Grabs My Wrist and I Spin Around and I See Porco. I Am About To Question What He's Doing When He Pulls Me Into A Kiss. I Stiffen Slightly But I End Up Relaxing Without Actually Kissing Back. He Pulls Away and He Mumbles, "Promise Me You Won't Die" I Nod and Choke, "I Promise" He Nods and He Walks Back Into The Crowd Of People.

I Turn Around and I Walk Onto The Ship and I Stand Next To Annie and She Asks, "What Took You So Long?" I Gulp and Mumble, "Porco Kissed Me" Annie Looks At Me and Squeaks, "What?!" I Look Down, "Porco Kissed Me" I Repeat.

Annie Clenches Her Fist and I Say, "Hey, Hey. Stop It" Annie Growls and I Grab Her Shoulders and I Say, "Annie, Calm Down. Please" Annie Shakes Her Head and Growls, "He Put His Filthy Eldian Hands On You" A Small Smile Graces My Lips, "Annie Leonhardt…. Are You Jealous?" Annie Shoves Me and Snaps, "As If" I Chuckle, and I Reply, "I Didn't Kiss Him Back. You Have Nothing To Fear" Annie Sighs and Answers, "Sorry" I Grin and Reply, "Don't Worry About It" Annie Looks Away and I Say, "If I Didn't Know Any Better, I Would Say You Had A Crush On Me. Do You Have A Crush On Me Annie?" Annie Turns To Look At Me and As The Ship Begins To Leave, She Grabs The Straps Of My Uniform and Pulls Me Into A Kiss.

She Pulls Away Before I Get The Chance To Kiss Back and She Asks, "Does That Answer Your Question?" I Peck Her Lips and I Answer, "Yes. Yes, It Does" She Nods and Pulls Away From Me and I Sit Against The Railings With A Stupid Grin On My Face.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 5 – Goodbye Brother**

Danielle's PoV

I Stand At The Front Of The Group and Dad Looks At Us and Says, "This Is The Border To Utopia. From Here, Move North Once The Sun Sets. From There, Just Follow The Plan. The Marleyan Army Will Anchor Here On The Full Mood So Take That Into Account While You Carry Out The Plan To Retake The Founder" We All Nod and Say, "Yes Sir!" Dad Nods and Answers, "Okay. Carry Out Your Mission, Listen To Danielle and Marcel and Come Back With The Founder. All Of You" I Nod and The Others Walk Over To The Horses.

Dad Pulls Me Into A Hug and I Say, "Goodbye Dad" He Kisses My Head and Murmurs, "Make Them Pay For What They Did To Us. Don't Let The Founder Escape" I Nod and Say, "Yes Sir" He Pulls Away and I Walk Over To My Horse and I Mount It and We Begin Our Journey.

 **A Few Hours Later**

I Sit Next To Annie and She Absentmindedly Plays With Our Tangled Fingers and Marcel Mumbles, "I Guess We Weren't Able To Go Far At Night After All" Reiner Looks Down and Answers, "We Couldn't Have Done Any Better. It Was Cloudy" I Chuckle and Snap, "Thanks For Stating The Obvious"

Bertholdt Sighs and He Mumbles, "I'm Glad We Didn't Run Into Any Titans But Is The King Of The Walls Really Not Going To Use The Founding Titan Even If The Walls Are Destroyed?" I Am About To Answer When Reiner Says, "Why Would You Bring That Up Now, Bertholdt? Believe In Marley's Research"

Bertholdt Glares At Him and Spits, "Don't Talk To Me, Devil" Marcel Looks At The Floor and He Mutters, "Yes…. There's No Going Back Now. We'll Be Arriving At The Wall Tomorrow, and…." Marcel Cuts Himself Off.

Reiner Looks At Us and He Asks, "What Is It?" I Glare At Him and Reiner Says, "Wait" Reiner Laughs and Sneers, "Don't Tell Me You're Feeling Hesitant To Kill Those Island Devils. Have You Forgotten What They Did To Marley and Us? These Are Descendants Of Devils Who Once Trampled Over The World and Turned It Into A Living Hell! The World Lives In Fear Of Them!" I Clench My Eyes Closed With A Low Growl.

Reiner Continues, "We're Here To Represent That World. Chosen Warriors Meant To Judge Them For Their Actions" I Am About To Stand Up and Grab Him When Marcel Says, "Sorry Reiner…" I Look At Marcel and Ask, "Marcel? Why Are You Apologizing To This Devil?" Marcel Sighs, "Huh? What Do You Mean, Marcel?" Reiner Questions The Black-Haired Boy.

Marcel Sighs, "You See, You Weren't Supposed To Be A Chose Warrior In The First Place…. But…. I Influenced The Army's Opinion By Making My Little Brother Look Bad and Putting You On A Pedestal" A Look Of Betrayal Passes Through Reiner's Eyes and He Says, "What?" Marcel Gulps and Mumbled, "I…. Wanted To Protect My Brother. Reiner…. I'm Sorry" I Send A Look At Marcel and Reiner Stands Up and He Asks, "Why Are You Apologizing?" I Hear Rumbling and I Look Up and I See A Titan. My Eyes Widen and I Yell, "You Idiot! Look Out!" I Jump Up and Marcel Pushes Him Out Of The Way and Gets Grabbed By The Titan. I Look Up At Marcel and I Make A Move To Run Forward When I Get Grabbed By Annie.

I Struggle In Annie's Hold and I Yell, "Marcel!" I Watch As My Best Friend Gets Devoured and I Get Showered With His Blood. I Drop Onto My Knees As I Watch The Titan Run Off and Annie Pulls Me Into A Hug and I Cry Into Her Jacket.

Annie Calms Me Down and She Chokes, "Damn It…. Marcel" I Whimper, and I Ask, "What Am I Going To Tell Porco? He…. He Was Hurt Enough When Marcel Was Chosen and He Wasn't…. This Will Break Him" Annie Rubs My Back and She Mumbles, "Send Him A Letter When We Get To The Walls. Find A Bird Or Something To Send It Back" I Nod Into Her Jacket and We Both Stand Up and Annie Says, "Let's Go" We Chase Reiner and Bertholdt.

 **After Catching Up To Reiner**

Annie Kicks Reiner In The Gut and The Boy Screams. Bertholdt Slumps To The Ground Next To Us and Annie Growls, "Not Bad. That's The First Time, I've Ever Lost To You In A Foot Race. If We Immediately Got A Hold Of The Titan That Ate Marcel, We Wouldn't Have Lost The Jaw Titan. But You and Bertholdt Ran and Danielle and I Didn't Know What To Do Either"

Annie Kicks The Grass and Pants, "Goddamn It…. He's… Not Coming Back Now" I Slump To The Ground and I Cry Out As The Pain In My Chest Becomes Too Much To Bare and Bertholdt Pulls Me Into A Hug. Reiner Spits Out Blood and Asks, "But How Were We Supposed To Expect Titans To Be There?" I Glare At The Boy and Annie Pants, "They Said That There Wouldn't Be Titans Until We Got Close To The Wall" Bertholdt Shakes His Head and He Grunts, "That Was Not Guaranteed. It's Not Like Every Titan Is Going To Be Acting Exactly According To Our Plans. Didn't You Learn That?"

I Wipe Away My Tears and I Say, "Bertholdt Is Right." I Look At Reiner and I Have To Stop Myself From Walking Over To The Boy and Beating Him Up Annie Says, "I've Had Enough. Let's Go Back" Annie Rubs My Shoulder and She Continues, "We'll Find Jaws, Then We'll Go Back. That Titan Has Probably Turned Back Into A Human Somewhere By Now and It's Not Like We Can Complete The Plan To Retake The Founder Without Marcel and On Danielle's Leadership Alone. The Plan Has Already Failed"

A Look Of Fear Settles On Reiner's Face and Annie Continues, "This Place Isn't Safe Either. A Titan Could Show Up At Any Time" I Help Bertholdt Up and We Begin Walking Away When I Hear, "Wait!" We All Turn To Face Reiner and He Continues, "No…. We Can't Go Back. We'll Continue The Plan" Annie Looks Away and Scoffs, "True…. You Can't Go Back Like This. If You Go Back To Marley Now, They'll Strip You Of The Armor For This Disgrace and You'll Be Eaten By The Next Warrior. Not That I Makes Any Difference To Me"

Reiner Glares At Us and Snaps, "and You're So Sure That'd Only Happen To Me?" Annie Hums and Looks Back At Him and Reiner Continues, "Are They Going To Hold Just Me Accountable For The Three Of Us Running Away? Are You Two Really Confident That You'll Escape Being Purged?" I Cross My Arms and Answer, "At Least We Earned Our Titans. Marcel Made It Easy For You"

Reiner Glares At Us and Continues, "and Also, Getting Jaws Back Isn't A Good Idea Anyway. What If That Titan Uses The Power Of The Jaw Titan To Get Away? With It's Speed, There's No Way Our Titans Could Ever Catch It Without The Cart Titan Around!" Bertholdt Fully Turns To The Boy and Asks, "How Could Anyone Learn To Use The Power Of A Titan That Fast?"

I Pull Bertholdt Back As Reiner Makes A Move To Grab Him As He Yells, "You Mastered How To Use The Colossus Titan Right Away!" I Kick Reiner In The Jaw and Growl, "Watch Your Tongue!" Reiner Rights Himself and He Continues, "We're Just Going To Get Eaten If We Do A Bad Job Of Chasing After Jaws and Exhaust The Power Of Our Titans Here and Even If We Do Show Up At The Marley Boat With Nothing To Show But This Fiasco, We'll Be Done For Anyway!" I Rub My Eyes and I Shoot A Spine-Chilling Glare At The Boy.

Reiner Takes A Sharp Intake Of Breath and He Continues, "If We Want To Ever Go Back To Our Home Land, We Need Some Kind Of Results. We Need The Founder. We Can't Go Back Without It Now" Annie Looks At Him and Says, "You Know, If You Could've Used A Hundredth Of That Composure Just A Minute Ago, We Wouldn't Have Had To Lose Jaws…. Or Marcel" Annie Takes A Few Steps Towards The Boy and She Asks, "So In Other Words, You're Going To Threaten Us To Protect Yourself?"

Reiner Looks Down At The Ground and Answers, "I Just Don't Know. I…." He Is Cut Off By A Kick To The Face and Bertholdt Yelps, "Annie?!" Annie Glares At Reiner and She Growls, "Then You Explain To Magath! Tell Him! "It Was All My Fault"!" My Clothes Get Splattered With The Blood Flying From Reiner's Person and Annie Continues, "" Honorary Marleyan"?! "Chosen Warrior"?! Who Gives A Damn?! Marley, Eldia, They Can All Go To Hell! They're All Liars, Every One Of Them! They Only Ever Think About Themselves! and I'm The Same! I Need To Get Back Alive! You Were Supposed To Die A Minute Ago, Right?! If You're Feeling Bad About It, Then Die Right Now! Take The Blame and Die!" I Grab Annie and I Pull Her Away From The Beaten Boy and I Murmur, "Calm Down, Annie" Annie Takes A Minute To Calm Down and She Takes A Few Steps Away From Me.

Reiner Stands Up and He Jumps At Annie. Bertholdt Has To Hold Me Back So I Don't Kill Him. Annie Groans In His Hold and Her Blue Eyes, Normally Cold But Now Filled With Fear, Meet Mine That Are Brimming With Angry Tears As I Try To Pull Away From Bertholdt.

Reiner Grabs Annie In A Secure Headlock and Growls, "Reiner's Dead… If You Need Marcel That Badly Then I'll Be Marcel" Bertholdt Tightens His Grip As He Whimpers, "Please Just Stop" Reiner Ignores Him and Continues, "This Is The Only Way We Can Go Home." Bertholdt Looks Away With Tears Spilling From His Eyes and He Cries, "Reiner, We Get It Already!" Reiner Tightens His Grip Around Annie's Neck and Says, "Let's All Go Home Together" I Break Free From Bertholdts Grip and Reiner Lets Go Of Annie Who Wheezes and Chokes As She Tries To Get Her Breath Back and Reiner Staggers Back Into The Tree.

I Grab His Collar and I Slam Him Against The Tree and I Ask, "What The Hell Is Wrong With You?! You Could've Killed Her!" Reiner Gulps and I Hear, "Danielle…. Let Him Go. He's Not Worth It" I Look Back At Annie and I Drop The Blonde Boy and I Run Over To Her.

I Cup Her Face In My Hands and I Ask, "Are You Alright?" Annie Nods Slowly and She Rests Her Hand On Mine. I Trace The Bruise That Is Forming On Her Neck With The Tip Of My Fingers and I Growl. I Pull Annie Into A Hug and Bertholdt Wipes His Tears Away and Wraps His Arms Around Both Of Us.

I Send A Soul-Chilling Glare At Reiner and He Looks Away. We Pull Away From Each Other and I Say, "Alright. We Have To Go" Annie Nods and She Walks Away From Us and Slides The Ring On Her Finger and Bites Down.

Lightning Strikes and I Shield My Eyes and I Feel Myself Get Picked Up. I Move My Arm and Annie Places Me On Her Shoulder and I Grab Onto The Ring Around Her Neck. She Picks Up Reiner and Bertholdt and They Do The Same and Then She Begins Walking Towards Wall Maria, Calling Horde After Horde Of Titans As She Walks. My Mind Drifts To Marcel and I Mutter, "Goodbye Brother" As I Snap Back To Reality.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 6 – The Fall Of Shiganshina District**

Danielle's PoV

I Clench My Eyes Closed As Annie Screams For The Last Time and Bertholdt Yells, "Reiner! Annie Is Running Out Of Steam!" Reiner Grunts and Yells, "I Know" I Narrow My Eyes and I Jump Off Of Annie and I Transform Into My Titan.

Reiner Looks At Me and Yells, "Danielle! What Are You Doing?!" I Look At Him and Bertholdt Yells, "I See It! The Wall!" I Grunt and I Pick Up Bertholdt and I Barrel Towards The Wall. I Turn My Head To See Reiner Transform and I Place Bertholdt Down and I Tap His Head With My Finger.

He Nods At Me and I Manage To Get Out Of My Titan's Nape and Reiner Catches Me As I Jump Off. I Climb Into His Hand That Holds Annie and I Rest Her Head In My Lap As I Try To Catch My Breath. Bertholdt Transforms and I Smirk When I Hear The Crash From The Wall.

I Look Down At Annie and I Trace The Marks On Her Face. She Stirs and I Yelp When Reiner Runs Into The Titans That Annie Had Called. I Growl and I Get Ready To Bite My Hand When Reiner Breaks Away From Them and Sprints Towards Bertholdt. I See A Titan Walk Past Bertholdt and Once We Reach Him, Reiner Grabs The Boy Who Yelps In Surprise and He Climbs Up The Wall.

He Places Us Three On The Wall and He Jumps Down. I Watch Him Go and I Look At Bertholdt and I Ask, "Are You Alright?" Bertholdt Nods and He Answers, "Yeah" I Cradle Annie In My Arms and I Ask, "Can We Trust Him? Reiner I Mean" Bertholdt Hums and Murmurs, "Time Will Tell. For Now, Lets Just Keep To Ourselves" I Nod and I Hear A Crash Signalling That The Inner Gate Has Been Destroyed.

 **Inside Wall Rose**

I Sit Next To Reiner and Bertholdt As We Wait For Annie To Wake Up and After A Few Minutes, I See Her Stir. She Sits Up and Asks, "Where Are We?" Bertholdt Looks Down and Answers, "Inside Wall Rose" Reiner Looks At Us and He Whimpers, "Bertholdt…. Annie…. Danielle…. Marcel…. I'm Sorry" He Pulls Us Into A Hug and Continues, "I'll Promise I'll Become A True Warrior".

 **A Few Hours Later**

I Follow Annie Over To The Soldier Giving Out Food and He Passes Us A Loaf Of Bread Each and I Silently Thank Him As We Walk Away. We Walk Over To A Small Corner and I Sit Next To Her and I Say, "We Go To The Settlements Soon" Annie Nods and Points Out, "After The Mission To Recapture The Wall Is A Bust. Those 250,000 People Will Die" I Rest My Head On The Wall and I Say, "Sending 250,000 People To The Slaughter. Sounds Just Like The Army Back Home, Doesn't It?" Annie Looks At Me and Asks, "What Do You Mean?" I Raise A Brow and Ask, "You Didn't Know? The Marleyan Army Sends The Eldians ,Who Didn't Become Warriors, Off Onto The Battlefield Where They Are Turned Into Pure Titans Using The Beast Titans Roar. Father Told Me That's One Of The New Ways To Capture Forts and Stuff" Annie Shrugs and Answers, "We Have To Capture Them Somehow I Guess."

I Nod and Say, "I Mean, If You Think About It, It's 250,000 Less Devils To Deal With" Annie Nods and She Says, "There Will Be A Lot Of Casualties During This Mission... Maybe Even One Of Us" I Rest My Hand On Her Shoulder, "That Will Never Happen. I'm Not Letting Any Of You Die. I Was Chosen As Leader and Lead I Will" Annie Sends Me A Look and She Answers, "I Know You Like The Back Of My Hand. You're Scared... Aren't You?" I Look Away and I Answer, "I'm Scared Of Failure... I Always Have Been" Annie Turns Me To Look At Her and She Says, "We Won't Fail. We Will Succeed" I Nod and We Continue Eating Our Food.

 **A Few Months Later**

Annie's PoV

I Lean On The Wall Of A Cabin As I Watch Danielle Work The Fields and I Hear, "My Village Was Located In Southeast Wall Maria. Unlike The Thriving Towns By The River, It Took Time For Us To Hear That The Wall Had Been Destroyed. Well, The Titans Were The First To Let Us Know What Had Happened"

I Take A Sip Of My Drink and The Man Continues, "It Was Around Dawn. The Livestock Got Awfully Noisy. Then A Strange Rumbling Came From The Ground, and It Only Got Louder. I Realized It Was Footsteps, So I Rushed To Open The Windows" The Man Pauses and Then Continues, "After That, I Can't Recall What Happened But I'd Gotten On My Horse and Ran, Leaving Behind Three Kids Who Were Just About Your Age" I Perk Up As My Best Friend Begins Walking Towards Us and I Lose My Excitement As She Is Lead Towards Another Field.

 **A Few Days Later**

Danielle's PoV

I Stand Next To Annie As Reiner A Bertholdt Unearth A Tree and Bertholdt Asks, "So That King Fritz Was Just A Figurehead" Annie Nods and Answers, "Not Just The Old Man, It's A Different Family Entirely. They're All Puppets Without A Shred Of Authority But They're Probably Not Subjects Of Ymir. The People Ruling From The Centre Of The Walls Are Probably A Different Race Of Eldians Who Sucked Up To Fritz A Century Ago."

Reiner Grunts and States, "Because There Was No Need For The Founding Titan? So, He Gave Them Authority In Exchange For Their Loyalty and Silence" Bertholdt Nods and Points Out, "Then We Just Need To Get Inside That Family. They Must Be Connected To The True King Of The Walls" Annie Looks Back and Asks, "How Do We DO That? Get Them To Hire Us As Servants Or Something? Or What, Do You Want Me To Get Close To One Of The Men In The Family and Marry Into It?"

I Send Annie A Look and I Ask, "Are You Crazy?! There Is No Way I'm Letting Some High Born Eldian Devil Lay A Finger On You!" Bertholdt Nods In Agreement and He Says, "Danielle's Right! You Can't Do That" Annie Nods and Answers, "Right. I Can't" Annie Rubs Her Eyes and Continues, "They're Able To Stay In The Seat Of Power Because They're Not Subjects Of Ymir. They'd Never Do Anything That Would Risk Infecting Their Family With "Filthy Blood" and Ever Since The Wall Was Destroyed, They Haven't Hired New Servants Out Of Concern For Outside Invaders."

Annie Looks Down and Takes Out Silence As I Sign To Continue, "Plus, It's Not Like I Have That Kind Of Charm That Could Ever Seduce A Man In The First Place." I Turn To Face Her and Bertholdt Squeaks, "That's Not True!" Annie Raises A Brow and Asks, "Thanks?" I Cross My Arms and I Answer, "Don't Put Yourself Down Like That, Annie. You Are Drop Dead Gorgeous, Badass and Intelligent" Annie Looks Up At Me and She Tilts Her Head To The Side and Asks, "You Mean That?" I Nod and Answer, "Every Word" I Press A Kiss To Her Forehead.

She Cracks A Small Smile While My Face Stays Stoic and Reiner Pipes Up, "In That Case, We Only Have One Opening" I Turn To Him and Ask, "Like What?" Reiner Looks At Us and He Continues, "We Have To Become Soldiers and Get Close To The Interior Military Police" Annie Kicks The Grass and Leans On My Shoulder.

She Shoves Her Hands In Her Pockets and Points Out, "I Know You Aren't Going To Want To Hear This From Me But It's Taken Us Two Years To Do This Much Research…" Reiner Cuts Her Off and States, "and We've Spent That Time Uprooting Trees. You're The Only One Who's Able To Enter and Exit The Royal Capital" Annie Looks Down and Points Out, "We Only Have Ten Years Left" Reiner Looks At Her and Asks, "Yeah, So?" Annie Glares At Him and Asks, "You're Saying You Want Us To Spend Those Ten Years Playing Soldier?"

I Shake My Head and I Ask, "Seriously?" Reiner Sighs and Says, "It's Been Two Years Since The Wall Was Destroyed But The King Of The Walls Never Made A Move. If The Tybur Family's Information Is Correct, Then The King Is Bound By Some Kind Of Vow To Renounce War"

I Look At Him and Ask, "So You're Going To Believe The Information Of A Family Who Has Never Used Their Titan Power To Help Marley In Any Way?! For Gods Sake Reiner! How Brainwashed Are You?!" Annie Looks At Me and Says, "If That Is The Case Then We Should Stop Wasting Time and Just Put An End To This!" Reiner Looks At Her and Asks, "So You Mean Destroying Wall Rose and Wall Sheena, Too?"

I Stroke My Jaw and I Say, "Destroying Wall Rose Should Be As Far As We Need To Go But If You Think About It, The Founding Titan Might Not Be In The Hands Of The Royal Family Now. It Could Be In The Hands Of A Random Eldian For All We Know" Annie Nods and Answers, "Danielle Is Right. If We Are To Continue Then We Need To Include All The Factors. If The Founding Titan Is No Longer In The Hands Of The Royal Family, Then It Will Be Harder To Find It"

Reiner Nods and Answers, "I Agree With You. Wall Rose Should Be As Far As We Need To Go and Doing That Might Cause The Founding Titan To Show Himself But If That Power Is Still In The Hands Of The Royal Family Then You Realize That No Matter How Defeated They May Be, One Roar From The Founder Can Turn Everything Around, Right?" I Nod, and He Continues, "and Then Us Precious Warriors Will End Up Falling Before Finishing Out Our Commitment As We Die Alongside The Rest Of The World. Humanity's Fate Is Riding On Us. Which Means Our Only Option Is To Take Our Time As We Move Forward" I Nod and Answer, "We Can't Miss Any Details Now. The Founder Could Be Anywhere" Reiner Nods and Says, "I've Started To Finally Realize It. That Is What We're Here For!"

 **Time Skip**

I Stand Next To Annie As Instructor Shadis Walks Up To Reiner and Yells, "Tell Me Boy Scout! What The Hell Did You Come Here For?!" I See A Confident Look Settle On Reiner's Features As He Answers, "To Save Humanity" I Roll My Eyes At His Façade and Shadis Walks Away From Him.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 7 – Not So Friendly**

Danielle's PoV

I Stand With My Arms Behind My Back As Shadis Studies The Cadets. Shadis Walks Up To A Blonde Boy and He Snaps, "Hey. Maggot" The Boy Salutes and Yells, "Sir!" Shadis Turns To Face Him and He Asks, "What's Your Name, Maggot?!" The Boy Gulps and Answers, "Armin Arlert Of Shiganshina District, Sir!" Shadis Smirks and Snaps, "Is That Right?! What A Dumb Name! Your Parents Give It To You?!" Armin Shakes His Head and Replies, "My Grandfather Did, Sir!" Shadis Nods and Barks, "Arlert! What The Hell Did You Come Here For?!"

Armin Looks Up At The Man and Answers, "To Make Myself Useful In The Struggle For Humanity's Victory, Sir!" Shadis Nods and Yells, "Well, That's Mighty Admirable! I Think I'm Gonna Make You Titan Chow, Maggot!" He Grabs Armin By The Head and Turns Him Around and He Snaps, "Row 3, Turn Around!" Row Three Turn Around and Shadis Continues His Inspection.

After Intimidating Two Other People, Shadis Walks Past Annie and I and He Grunts But Continues Walking. My Stance and Expression Doesn't Faulter and He Walks Over To A Two-Toned Boy and Asks, "What Is Your Name, Maggot?!" The Boy Salutes and Replies, "Jean Kirschtein From Trost District, Sir!" Shadis Nods and Growls, "What Did You Come Here For?!" Jean Smirks and Drawls, "To Get Into The Military Police Brigade and Live In The Interior, Sir" Shadis Nods Again, Seeming Pleased With Jean's Answer and He Says, "I See! You Want To Go To The Interior, Do You?" Jean Nods and Replies, "Yes Sir!" Shadis Smirks and Headbutts The Boy.

I Watch As Many Other People Flinch Slightly and Shadis Yells, "Hey! Who Gave You Permission To Sit Down?! You Think Someone Who Folds Here Is Gonna Be Allowed In The Mpb?!" Jean Holds His Head and Rises To His Feet As Shadis Turns To The Boy Next To Him and Asks, "What's Your Name, Maggot?!" The Boy Salutes and Answers, "Marco Bodt, Jinae Town, Wall Rose South District, Sir!" Shadis Stands In Front Of Him and Growls, "What'd You Come Here For?!" Marco Grins "To Join The Military Police Brigade and Devote Myself To The King, Sir!" I Almost Scoff At This Boys Honesty and Shadis Replies, "I See…. That's Just Fine. A Good Goal…. Except…. I'm Positive The King's Got No Interest In Your Scrawny Body!" Shadis Yells, "Next!" As He Walks Away From Marco and He Stops In Front Of A Short Boy and He Asks, "You Maggot! Who're You?!"

The Boy Salutes On The Wrong Side and Yells, "Ragako Village, Wall Rose South District! Connie Springer, Sir!" Shadis Picks Connie Up By The Head and Snarls, "You've Got It Backwards Connie Springer. I Know They Taught You At The Start…. The Salute Indicates Your Dedication To Serve The Common Good, Heart and Soul!" The Boy Groans and Shadis Continues and Yells, "Is Your Heart On Your Right Side, Connie?"

My Eyes Snap Towards A Girl When I Hear Munching and I See Her Eating A Potato. I Smirk and I Nudge Annie With A Quiet Chuckle. The Short Blonde Looks At The Girl "Ugh. We're Surrounded By Imbeciles" She Scoffs Under Her Breath. I Nod and Murmur, "I Wonder What Type Of Punishments They Serve Here. It Probably Won't Be As Bad As Back Home" Annie Nods and We Stop Talking When Shadis Growls, "Hey…. What The Hell Are You Doing?"

The Girl Looks Around, Unaware She Is Being Spoken To, and Once She Bites Into The Potato Again, Shadis Yells, "YOU, SCUM! I'M TALKING TO YOU! WHAT THE HELL'S YOUR NAME?!" The Girl Chews The Food In Her Mouth and She Swallows and Then Salutes and Answers, "Dauper Village, Wall Rose South District! Sasha Blouse, Sir!" Shadis Looks Down At The Potato and Asks, "Sasha Blouse…. What's In Your Right Hand?" Sasha Looks Forward "A Steamed Potato, Sir! I Happened To See Them In The Kitchen and Couldn't Help Myself!" She Answers With Confidence In Her Voice.

Shadis Looks At Her and Says, "So You Stole It? Why…. Why Would You Eat The Potato Now?" Sasha Gulps and Replies, "They Lose Their Taste When They Get Cold So I Thought It Best To Eat It Right Now." The Surprised Look Returns To Shadis' Face and He Says, "No…. I Don't Understand. Why'd You Eat The Potato?" Sasha Looks A Bit Distressed By The Question When She Replies, "Um… Are You Asking Me Why People Eat Potatoes In General?" Everyone Gasps and I Block Out The Rest Of The Conversation and We Get Dismissed To Dinner.

I Lean On The Wall Outside The Mess Hall and I Watch Potato Girl Run. Connie Leans On The Railing and Says, "He's Still Got That Potato Girl Running" I Cross My Arms and Eren Gasps, "Wow, She's Been Going At It For Five Hours Straight Now" Eren Sighs and Continues, "Still, The Look On Her Face When He Told Her To Run Until She Was Almost Dead Was Nothing Compared To Her Anguished Look The Moment He Said She Doesn't Get To Eat Today."

Connie, Hums and States, "Dauper…. If Memory Serves, That's A Hunting Village With A Small Population Deep In The Mountains." Marco Hums Softly and Says, "I Didn't Know Villages Like That Still Existed…." He Turns To Eren and Asks, "Come To Think Of It, I Didn't Hear Where You're From…. Where Did You Live?"

Eren Rests His Hand On Armin's Shoulder and Replies, "Shiganshina District, Same As Him. Then We Moved To A Settlement…. And Stayed There Until We Were 12" Everyone Looks At Me and Eren Asks, "So How About You? We Don't Know Who You Are Or Where You Lived" I Blow My Hair From My Face and I Say, "The Only Thing You Guys Need To Know Is You Don't Want Me As An Enemy" I Pull Open The Door and I Walk Inside The Mess Hall.

I Spot Annie In The Crowds Of People and I Sit Next To Her. She Turns To Me and I Rest My Elbow On The Table and I Rub My Eyes. Annie Nudges Me and Asks, "What's Up?" I Sigh and Answer, "Nothing. I'm Just Tired" Annie Gives Me A Look But Doesn't Push The Subject Any Further and I Hear, "Oh Hey Annie!" I Follow The Voice and I See A Girl.

I Look At Annie and Ask, "A Friend Of Yours?" Annie Nods and Answers, "Mina, This Is My Best Friend Danielle Redwolf. Danielle This Is Mina Carolina" I Send Her A Grin and I Say, "Nice To Meet Ya, Mina" Mina Smiles and Replies, "Likewise Danielle" Mina Sits Down At The Table and Mina Asks, "So How Do You Guys Know Each Other?"

Annie Looks At Me and Answers, "We Grew Up Together" Mina Looks At Me and Asks, "Really?" I Nod and Say, "Yeah. We Grew Up In A Small Village In The Southeast Mountains Of Wall Maria. We Both Lost Our Parents To The Titans" Mina Looks At Us With Pity In Her Eyes and She Says, "I'm Sorry…." Annie Shrugs and Answers, "Well It Doesn't Do Good To Dwell On The Past. All That Matters Is The Here and Now" Mina Nods and We Both Agree.

Mina Thinks For A Second Before She Asks, "What Regiment Are You Guys Joining?" Annie Smirks and Answers, "I'm Looking For A Spot In The Military Police Brigade" Mina Smiles and She Looks At Me and Asks, "What About You?" I Swirl The Liquid In My Cup and I Take A Drink Before I Answer, "I'm More Of A Frontline Person Myself So I'm Going For The Corps. I'm Gonna Play With The Big Boys" Annie Sends Me A Look and Asks, "Really? You Could Die!" I Look At Her With A Playful Grin and I Joke, "Nice To Know That You Worry About My Well Being, Leonhardt"

Annie Shoves Me and I Chuckle Quietly and Press A Kiss Against Her Nose. Mina Smiles and Asks, "So Danielle? How Did You Get That Scar?" I Hum, and I Am About To Answer When I Hear, "I Told You…. I Saw It." I Turn In My Seat and I Murmur, "That Is A Story For Another Time. For Now, Let's Watch The Show, "Mina Nods and I Look Back Over At Eren When I Hear, "Really?! How Big Was It?!" Eren Crosses His Arms and States, "It's Head Cleared The Wall." Everyone Who Has Crowded Around Him Gasps and Someone Says, "What?! I Heard It Stepped Over The Wall!" Two People Agree and Eren Chuckles and Replies, "No…. It Wasn't That Big."

Someone Asks, "What Did It's Face Look Like?" Eren Looks At The Person and Answers, "It Had A Huge Mouth, But Hardly Any Skin." Someone Pipes Up and Asks, "Then What About The "Armoured Titan" That Broke Through Wall Maria?!" Eren Nods and Says, "I Saw That Too. That's What They Call It But It Just Looked Like A Regular Titan To Me." Everyone Murmurs, and Connie Asks, "Then…. Then…. What Does A Regular Titan Look Like?!" Eren Looks Like He's Going To Be Sick and Marco Says, "Let's Knock Off These Questions, People. There Are Some Things A Guy Doesn't Wanna Remember."

Connie Gasps, "S-Sorry! I Didn't Mean To Stir Up Painful Memories," He Apologizes. Eren Picks Up His Bread and Growls, "That's Not It." He Tears Some Bread Off and Continues, "The Titans Are No Big Deal. If We Can Master The Vertical Manoeuvring Gear, They'll Be No Match For Us!"

He Looks At Marco and Continues, "I'm Done Picking Up Stones and Pulling Weeds! I Finally Get To Train To Be A Soldier! I Was Just Choked Up About It Before." A Grin Slides On Eren's Face As He Continues, "So I'm Gonna Join The Survey Corps and Rid The World Of The Titans and Then…. "He Gets Cut Off By Jean Asking, "Are You Out Of Your Mind?" Eren Looks At Him and Jean Continues, "Did You Just Say You Were Going To Join The Survey Corps?" Eren Nods and Asks, "Yeah…. Why?" Eren Turns In His Chair and Asks, "You're The Guy Who Wants To Join The Military Police and Take It Easy, Right?"

Jean Nods and Answers, "I'm Nothing If Not Honest. Better That Than A Guy Who's Shaking In His Boots But Pretends To Be Brave. Though You Are Eloquent…." Eren Cuts Him Off By Asking, "You're Talking About Me?!" Jean Chuckles and Continues, "Ah, Sorry. Honesty Is A Bad Habit Of Mine. I Don't Mean To Rile You Up." The Bell Rings To Signify That Dinner Is Over and I Say, "Let's Get Outta Here" I Stand Up and Annie and Mina Follow and Walk Out The Mess Hall and Towards The Barracks.

 **The Next Morning**

I Stand Next To Annie and Reiner and Shadis Says, "First, I'm Gonna Check Your Aptitude. All You Have To Do Is Attach A Rope To Your Hips and Dangle, Scum! Keep Your Balance With The Full Belt On! Those Who Can't Do This Aren't Even Fit To Use As Bait! I'll Send You To A Settlement!" Shadis Looks Down At A List and His Eyebrows Raise and He Comments, "This Should Be Interesting" He Scans The Trainees and Yells, "Danielle Redwolf!" People Begin Murmuring and I Walk Out Of The Crowd and The Ropes Get Hooked Up To My Hips. The Other Trainees Get Hooked Up and We All Balance Flawlessly... Well, Most Of Us Anyway. I Look Over At Eren and I Stifle A Laugh When I See Him Upside Down.

 **After Training**

Danielle's PoV

I Lean On A Wall Outside Of The Trainee Base While I Watch Mikasa and Armin Help Eren With His Aptitude Test. "You Should Be Able To Do It If You Stick To The Basics. Don't Try To Get Fancy. Stiffen The Muscles Of Your Upper Body, and Let Your Lower Body Hang Loose. Just Keep Your Balance, While Slowly Shifting Your Weight To The Belts On Your Waist and Legs" Mikasa Points Out To The Boy.

Eren Nods and Armin Says, "You Can Do It If You Just Relax. Even I Managed To Do It, and I Have No Coordination At All" Eren Nods Again and He Turns To Me and Asks, "How Did You Do It? You Have The Highest Grade In Our Class" I Look At Him and I Grunt, "Hmm? I Did What Mikasa Said. In My Hometown, Annie and I Would Do A Lot Of Balancing With Ropes and Stuff Just In Case We Got A Chance To Fight The Titans."

Eren Nods and Turns Back To Armin and He Says, "I Have A Feeling I'll Get It This Time. Lift Me Up Armin!" Armin Nods and Hoists The Boy Up. It Doesn't Last Long As Eren Flies Forward and Hits His Head Off The Ground. I Push Off The Wall and Mutter, "Well That Backfired On Us" and I Help Mikasa and Armin Take Eren To The Infirmary.

In The Mess Hall

I Look Over At Eren and I Hiss, "He Said He Was Going To Eradicate All, Titans Yesterday But He Is Now Sat Over There Looking As If He Is Drugged Up On Something" Annie Grunts In Response and I Turn To Look At My Blonde Friend and I Ask, "Annie? You Alright?" She Grunts Again and Turns Away From Me. I Wrap My Arms Around Her Waist With A Smile and I Ask, "Are You Jealous? Annie?" The Teasing Tone In My Voice Appears To Annoy Her.

Annie Scoffs and Growls, "I'm Not Jealous. Only Devils Would Feel Such An Emotion" I Chuckle and Ask, "Are You On Your Period?" Annie Elbows Me and Hisses, "Fuck You, Redwolf" I Chuckle Again As I Nuzzle Her Back, "If You Want To, Leonhardt" I Say, My Words Are Muffled By Her Hoodie. After A Few More Minutes, We Stand Up and Walk Out Of The Mess Hall and Towards The Girls Barracks.

With The Boys

Eren's PoV

"A Trick To It? Sorry, Buddy, But I'm Just A Natural. All I Can Say Is To Feel It" Connie Says With A Small Chuckle. I Turn To Jean and He Asks, "Hey, Why Don't You Tell Me? Tell Me The Secret To Keeping Your Sanity After Disgracing Yourself In Public Like That!" I Look At Them Both and I Stammer, "G-Guys, I'm Seriously Asking For Your Help Here..."

Marco Pipes Up and Says, "Okay, Okay. Forget Connie and Jean, Those Guys Over There Also Got High Marks. I Think Their Names Are Reiner and Bertholdt" I Nod and Armin and I Climb Up To The Two Older Boys and Ask For Their Help.

Reiner's PoV

"Hmmm... The Trick To Posture Control?" I Ask. Eren Looks At Me, "Please! I Heard You Guys Were Great At It... Reiner... Bertholdt" He Pleads. I Shrug and Say, "Sorry... But I Don't Think You Need A Trick To Just Dangle There. I Don't Think I Have The Words OF Wisdom You're Looking For. Anyway, Danielle Was With You So Why Didn't You Ask Her?"

Eren Sighs and Replies, "She Didn't Give Me Much To Go On. She Just Said That Her and That Blonde Girl She Is Always With Used To Practice In Their Hometown" Bertholdt Chuckles and Murmurs, "Yeah. That Sounds Like Something Danielle and Annie Would Do." A Grin Slides On Eren's Face and He Says, "Hey! Maybe I Could Go and Ask Annie For Help" Bertholdt Shakes His Head and Stammers, "I Wouldn't D-Do That If I Were You" Eren Looks At Him and Asks, "Why Not?" Bertholdt Sighs and I Say, "Annie Isn't Very Talkative. The Only Person She Talks To Is Danielle and Those Two Have Been Friends Since Childhood. They Hung Out With Each Other Months After Being Born." Eren Shrugs and Asks, "It's Worth A Shot Though, Isn't It?" I Shake My Head.

Bertholdt Chuckles, "If You Want To Get Your Ass Kicked Then Yeah" He Says Jokingly. Eren Looks At Him Confused and Asks, "Why Would I Get My Ass Kicked?" I Cross My Arms and I State, "We Also Grew Up With Danielle and Annie. Those Two Got Into Fights With The Other Kids and Were Able To Beat Them Without A Problem. If Annie Doesn't Kick Your Ass First, Then Danielle Will" Eren Nods and Sighs, "I See." Armin Looks Down At His Hands and Says, "You'll Just Have To Bet On Tomorrow".

Bertholdt's PoV

I Look At The Two Boys, Remembering Them From When I Attacked The Wall and I Ask, "You Two Are From Shiganshina District, Aren't You?" Eren Nods and Says, "Yeah... That's Right" I Nod and Reply, "Then You Probably Know How Scary The Titans Are. So, I Don't Get Why You Wanna Be Soldiers"

Armin Looks At Me and He Says, "Um... It's Not That I Experienced The Titan Menace Directly Or Even That I Was Left At A Settlement But Whenever I Think About The Monarchy Ramming Through That Suicidal Wall Recapture Operation, I Can't Sit Still. I Have No Confidence In My Own Physical Strength... I Don't Even Know If There's Anything I Can, Do But I Can't Just Keep Quiet and Watch What's Happening"

I Nod and Answer, "I See" Eren Nods and Answers, "I'm Pretty Much The Same Way" Armin Looks At Us and Asks, "Can I Ask... Where You Guys Are From?" I Look At Them and I Reply, "Reiner, Danielle, Annie and I Are From A Village Deep In The Mountains, Southeast Of Wall Maria." Armin Gasps and Says, "What?! That's..." Eren Rubs His Neck and Murmurs, "No Wonder Annie and Danielle Don't Talk Much."

I Nod and Say, "Yeah... Unlike The Thriving Towns Along The River, We Didn't Get Word Right Away That The Wall Was Broken. In Fact, We First Learned About It When The Titans Came. It Was Dawn... The Livestock Were Making A Huge Racket. I'd Never Heard The Ground Rumble Like That Before, and It Kept Getting Louder... Realizing It Was Footsteps, I Hurried To The Window and Opened It..." I Let Out A Shaky Breath and Continue, "After That, Um I Really Don't Remember. Everyone Was Panicking and When We Found Danielle and Annie... Danielle Was Covered In Her Fathers Blood and Her Mother Was Being Placed In The Mouth Of A Titan, Sacrificing Herself To Save Her Only Child. Danielle Lost All Emotion After That. We Got On Horses and Escaped To Wall Sina. Next, We Probably Went Through The Same Thing. Two Years Of Settlement Work, Then You Came Here Right?"

Reiner Groans, "Jeez... What Did You Have To Talk About That For? You Know Danielle Hates When People Pity Her" He Reminds Me With A Harsh Tone In His Voice. I Look Down and Stammer, "Sorry... Um... My Point Was... You Guys Are Different From Them" Eren Looks At Me and Asks, "Them?" Confusion Lacing His Tone.

I Sigh and Reply, "The Ones Here Who Don't Know The Terror Of The Titans. The Majority Of Them Are Here Because It's The Thing To Do Because If You're a Producer Going On 12, Even If You're a Weak-Kneed Coward You'll Still Be Swept Up In The Military Craze After The Fall Of Wall Maria and Become A Trainee Soldier. Still, Forget About The Survey Corps, Everybody Wants To Be In The Military Police Brigade, But If They Can't, They'll Opt For The Garrison and Try To Get Transferred Into The Brigade."

I Look Down At My Feet and I Continue, "I'm Just As Cowardly As They Are. I'm Athletic, So I Chose To Be A Soldier, Thinking I'd Use My Skill To Become An Elite MP and If That Doesn't Work Out, I Might Just Chuck It All..." Reiner Sighs and I Continue, "You See With Danielle That's Different. She Has Intelligence, A Thirst For Combat, She Is Amazing When It Comes To Teamwork, She Has Initiative, She Has The Wits Of A Soldier, She's Ruthless, She Has High Agility, Her Strength Is Off The Charts, Her Dexterity Is Amazing, Her Leadership Abilities Are Better Than Anything I Have Ever Seen and Her Concentration Levels Are Outstanding. Danielle Is Everything That Is Wanted In A Soldier. When Danielle Chose Her Friends, I Think She Just Pitied Me. I Have No Will Of My Own" Reiner Is About To Reply When I Hear, "Bertholdt, That Isn't True and You Know It." I Blush and Danielle Climbs Up and Sits Next To Me.

Danielle's PoV

Eren Smiles Slightly and Says, "Well You Guys Have Gone Through A Lot and Protecting Your Own Life Is Admirable Too." I Nod and I Turn To My Tall Friend and I Say, "Yeah. Yeager Is Right. If It Wasn't For You Begging Me and Annie To Get On Horses and Flee Then We Would Have Been Titan Food." Reiner Nods and Agrees, "Exactly Bert. Don't Put Yourself Down Like That" Eren Looks Down At His Feet and Admits, "I've Been Saying I Wanna Join The Survey Corps Since Before The Wall Came Down... People Just Thought I Had A Screw Loose. So, I'm The Crazy One..." Reiner, Bertholdt and I Look At Him Surprised,

Reiner's Eyes Widen and He Asks, "Then... Even After Encountering The Titans... You Didn't Change Your Mind?" Eren Nods and Admits, "Well... Right Now, I Don't Know If I Can Actually Become A Soldier and I'm Plenty Terrified Of Them, But What's Stronger Than That Is My Need To Kill Them... Every Last One Of Them"

I Pat His Back With A Chuckle and Say, "Damn... That's Dedication Right There, Yeager" He Blushes and Reiner Admits, "I Have Something Too... Something I Absolutely Have To Do... I Have To Go Back Home, Even Though There's Nothing Left To Go Home To. That Purpose Is All That's Left Inside Me... I Will Go Back... No Matter What." I Look Away From Reiner and I Say, "Our Home Doesn't Exist Anymore Reiner... We Know That Better Than Anyone" Reiner Looks Down and I Continue, "Anyway, I Better Go Before Annie Gets Worried. See You In Training Tomorrow Guys" The Boys Bid Me Farewell and I Climb Off The Bed and Sneak Back To The Girls Barracks.

 **The Next Morning**

Danielle's PoV

I Walk To Training With Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt and I Say, "Let's See If Yeager Can Do This Now." Reiner Nods and States, "He Is Determined, I'll Give Him That" Annie Scoffs and Asks, "Going Soft, Braun?" In Her Usual Bored Tone. Reiner Glares At Her and Growls, "Don't Start With The Last Name Shit, Annie." Annie Smirks and Him and Chuckles, "Blow Me" I Smirk At The Shorter Girl, "I'd Rather Not" Reiner Grunts In Disgust. Bertholdt Sighs and Snaps, "Enough! You'll Blow Our Cover" I Chuckle At Him and I Say, "Damn Bertholdt."

We Stand At The Back Of The Crowd and I Hear, "Eren Yeager... Are You Ready? Control Of The Vertical Manoeuvring Gear Is The Bare Minimum Required To Be A Soldier. If You Can't Do That, You're Going Back To The Settlement... Understand?" Eren Nods and Says, "Yes Sir!" Shadis Nods and Grunts, "Begin" Eren Gets Lifted Up But It Doesn't Last Long As He Flips Over and Lands On His Head Again. I Facepalm and Ask, "Did He Listen To A Word You Said Reiner?" Reiner Sighs and Grunts, "Doesn't Look Like It" Eren Tries To Right Himself and He Stammers, "W-Wait!" Shadis Sighs and Commands, "Get Him Down" Eren Shakes His Head and Pleads, "N-Not Yet! I Can..." Shadis Narrows His Eyes and Growls, "Bring Him Down, Now!" Eren Gets Placed Down and He Crumples To The Floor In Defeat.

He Looks At The Floor and Whimpers, "I..." Shadis Scoffs and Growls, "Wagner..." Thomas Nods and Says, "Yes Sir!" Shadis Motions To His Belt and Commands, "Switch Belts With Yeager" Eren Gets Given Thomas' Belt and When He Gets Lifted Up Again, He Balances Perfectly. I Gasp and Ask, "He Had Defective Gear? How...?" Annie Scoffs and She Growls, "Why Do You Care? This Is Just One Other Devil For Us To Deal With" Reiner Nods and Agrees, "Yeah. Stick To The Mission" I Chuckle and I Say, "If I Cared, I Would Be Cheering Him On Like These Other Idiots, Wouldn't I?" Bertholdt Nods and Grunts, "Exactly"


	8. Chapter 8

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 8 – Just The Two Of Us, Forever and Always**

Armin's PoV

I Run Behind The Group and Shadis' Horse Trots Along Side Me and Shadis Yells, "What's Wrong Arlert?! You're The Only One Behind! Is It Too Heavy For You?! Would You Like To Be The Only One Not Carrying A Pack?!" He Rides Ahead and I Growl, "Damn" I Stumble A Bit and Hiss "Shit" My Pack Gets Pulled From My Back and Reiner Growls, "Give Me That, Armin! At This Rate You'll Fail!" I Look At Him and Stammer, "B-But If You Help Me Then You'll Fail Too!" Reiner Scoffs and Looks Ahead. "Make Sure We Don't Get Caught! At Least Until I Change My Mind!" He Growls As He Picks Up The Pace.

" _Reiner Braun… He's Strong As An Ox and Has The Will To Match. But More Than Anything, He's Earned The Trust Of His Comrades"_

I Narrow My Eyes and I Pull My Pack From Reiner's Back and I Say, "I Won't Be A Burden! Even If I Die Trying!" Reiner's Eyes Widen and He Begins To Protest, "Wha?! Hey!" I Ignore Him and Push Myself To Run Faster Than The Group.

" _Armin Arlert…. When It Comes To Physical Strength, He Doesn't Measure Up To Soldier Standards But I Hear That In The Classroom Lectures, He's Shown Extraordinary Imagination. If He Acquired A Sense Of Direction Or Perhaps…."_

 **Location – Forest – Somewhere In Wall Rose**

Jean's PoV

I Rush After Danielle, Annie and Bertholdt and The Trio Get The Killing Blow. I Glare At Their Retreating Forms and I Snap, "Shit! Danielle, Annie and Bertholdt Got It Again!"

" _Annie Leonhardt…. The Angle Of Approach Of Her Slashing Attack Is Impeccable…. She Carves Deeply Into The Target. Personality Wise, She Tends To Be A Loner and Has Trouble Cooperating Although She Does Seem To Cooperate Well With Danielle Redwolf."_

" _Bertholdt Hoover…. He's Mastered Every Single Skill That Has Been Taught and I Believe He Has A Lot Of Potential But He Lacks Drive and Tends To Leave Decisions To Others. Just Like Leonhardt, Hoover Seems To Cooperate Well With Danielle Redwolf and Will Make Decisions For Himself When Around Her, As If He Is Trying To Seem Worthy Of Her Trust and Respect"_

" _Danielle Redwolf…. A Jack Of All Trades and A Master Of All Skills and She Has A Lot Of Potential. She Doesn't Work Well With Her Other Classmates Besides Braun, Leonhardt and Hoover But That May Be Because Of Their Background Together. She Has Intelligence, A Thirst For Combat, She Is Amazing When It Comes To Teamwork, She Has Initiative, She Has The Wits Of A Soldier, She's Ruthless, She Has High Agility, Her Strength Is Off The Charts, Her Dexterity Is Amazing, Her Leadership Abilities Are Better Than Anything I Have Ever Seen and Her Concentration Levels Are Outstanding. She Is Everything A Soldier Should Be. He Strike Form Is Flawless and Like Leonhardt, She Carves Deeply Into Her Target. Her Talent Is Historically Unprecedented, Making Her A Very Valuable Asset. She Takes Pride In Knowing That Her Skills Are Unmatched By Any Of The Other Trainees. To Redwolf, It Seems The Only People Who Are Equal To Her Are Leonhardt, Braun and Hoover."_

"I Can't Cut As Deep As Her! At This Rate…. I'll Have To Earn Points By Finding "Titans" First!" I Yell As I Fly Away From The Trio. I Narrow My Eyes and Bark, "I'll Be The One In The Military Police Brigade!"

" _Jean Kirschtein…. He Has A Deep Understanding Of The Vertical Manoeuvring Equipment and Excels At Exploiting That Skill. Of Course, His Skill Is Not On The Levels Of Redwolf But He Is Outstanding None The Less. He Can Also Take In A Situation At A Moments Glance, But His Personality Is Like A Drawn Sword, Which Tends To Create Conflict"_

I Spot A Titan and I Begin To Make My Way Towards It But Connie Cuts Me Off and Leaves Me In The Dust. I Growl and Snarl, "Connie! That Bastard!" Connie Laughs and Says, "Thanks Jean!" and He Shoots Towards The Titan.

" _Connie Springer…. He Has A Fine Sense Of Balance and Is Effective At Vertical Manoeuvring. However, He's Got A Slow Mind and Often Makes Strategic Mistakes"_

I Watch As Connie Moves To Make The Killing Blow But Sasha Beats Him To It. Connie Looks At His Friend and Yells, Wha?! SASHA!" Sasha Laughs and Yells, "GOT IT!"

" _Sasha Blouse…. She Moves Quickly and Has Remarkable Instincts But She Has Issues With Structure, Making Her I'll Suited For Organized Activity"_

"What The Hell?!" Connie Growls At His Friend. Sasha Smirks and Says, "Following You From Above Paid Off Connie!" I Growl, and I Snap, "Damn It! Quit Following Me!" Connie Nods and Yells, "Yeah Sasha! Quit Following Us!" I Groan and Try To Lose The Duo In The Trees.

Mikasa's PoV

I Glide Through The Forest With Eren Hot On My Tail and I Slice Through The Nape Of A Titan. I Turn Back To Look At Eren and He Glares At Me. I Feel A Twinge Of Pain In My Heart But I Shake It Off.

" _Mikasa Ackerman…. She Has Mastered Every Single Difficult Subject Perfectly. Like Redwolf, Her Talent Is Historically Unprecedented, Making Her Another Valuable Asset"_

" _Eren Yeager…. Though Proficient At Barehanded Fighting. He Doesn't Seem To Have Any Other Skills…. But He Possesses A Sense Of Purpose That's Twice As Strong As Everyone Else's. Through Constant Effort, His Grades Have Steadily Improved"_

I Hear Eren Hiss, "Crap".

 **Later That Day:**

Danielle's PoV

I Spar With Mina and She Asks, "So, Danielle? Are You and Annie A Thing?" I Smirk and Tease, "Why? You Want In On The Action?" Mina Giggles and Answers, "No. Its Just The Way She Curled Up With You Last Night That Made Me Wonder If You Guys Were Romantically Involved" I Nod and Answer, "Yeah We Are. We Were Up Half The Night Trying To Decide How The Long Distance Would Work" Mina Rests Her Hand On My Shoulder and Says, "You'll Figure It Out. You Have The Highest Rank Of Intelligence Here. You Even Surpass Armin" I Blush Hard and I Rub My Neck.

I Am About To Speak When I Hear A Loud Thud and Reiner Groan, "Ow…. C'mon, This Time You Be The Bad Guy" Eren Helps Reiner Up and Reiner Continues, "Yeesh…. I Thought I Was Too Big For You To Flip Onto The Ground…." Eren Chuckles, "Sorry…. I've Got Bad Control" He Answers Sheepishly.

Reiner Nods and Asks, "You're Used To Grappling, Aren't You?" Eren Nods and Says, "Back When I Lived In The City, I Played With This Huge Kid" Reiner Nods and Hums. I Chuckle and I Feel Eyes Staring At Me and I Turn My Head and I See Shadis. He Sends Me A Nod and I Nod Back At Him.

Eren Sighs and Grunts, "Still…. I Don't Get This Training. It's Not Like Soldiers Fight People" Reiner Growls, "Don't Let The Instructor Hear You Say That" Eren Rolls His Eyes and Continues, "In The First Place, Only A Fool Would Go After An Attacker Barehanded" Reiner Raises A Brow and Asks, "Okay, What Should You Do In That Situation?" Eren Looks Up At Him and Replies, "Run Away, Of Course!" Reiner Glares At Him and Growls, "Of All The Irresponsible…." Reiner Stops Himself and Her Crosses His Arms.

Eren Looks At The Blade and Says, "We Don't Learn Anything Using A Wooden Knife and These Combat Skills…. Even If They Worked In Real Life, It'd Just Be Sheer Luck" Eren Glares At The Blade In His Hand and Continues, "The Truth Is It Usually Doesn't End Well. It's Not Child's Play" Reiner Sighs and Answers, "I Know What You're Trying To Say But I Still Think It's Irresponsible. We're Soldiers Aren't We?"

Reiner Looks At Eren and Says, "There Are Times We Can't Run Away, No Matter How Bad The Odds Are. When The People We're Supposed To Protect Are Threatened, We Have To Enter The Fray and Shield Them."

Reiner Continues, "It Doesn't Matter Who Or What The Enemy Is, We Need To Master Skills and Get Stronger, With Artillery As Well As Hand-To-Hand Combat. I Think That's Our Responsibility As Strong Soldiers"

Reiner Sighs and Says, "Sorry…. I Didn't Mean To Lecture You Like Some Know-It-All. Back To Training!" I Chuckle and Something Catches My Eye. I Turn My Head and I Smirk When I See Annie Trekking Across The Training Field. I Am About To Call Her Over When I Hear "Hey…. Look" I Look At Reiner and Eren and Eren Answers, "Oh… Annie. The Instructor Never Catches Her Slacking Off."

Reiner Smirks and Says, "I've Got It Eren. I'm Gonna Teach Annie How To Deal With A Dagger, Too. That Slouch Is The One Who Really Need The Lecture On How A Soldier Should Behave, and I'll Be The One To Give It To Her!" and I Laugh At His Stupidity.

Annie Walks Over To Them and She Is About To Walk Past When Reiner Says, "Do You Like The Instructors Headbutts? Because If You Don't Wanna Get Any Shorter Than You Already Are…. I Suggest You Recall The First Day You Arrived and Get Serious." Even From Over Here, I Don't Miss The Growl That Leaves Annie's Lips and Eren Asks, "Huh? What're You Talking Abou…." Annie Glares At Eren and Her Eyes Soften As Her Eyes Meet Mine. I Wink At Her and She Smirks.

Reiner Chuckles, "Alright! Let's Go Eren!" He Says Loudly and A Grin Slides Onto My Lips As Annie Gets Into Her Stance. Eren Holds The Knife Up and Asks, "Annie? We're Practicing The Formal Way To Deal With An Edged Weapon. You Remember How It's Done?" When Annie Doesn't Answer Eren Continues, "Here I Come!" Eren Runs Forward and Annie Swings Her Leg Around and It Strikes Eren's Ankle.

Eren Groans and Asks, "Ngah…. What Was That?! You Kicked My Leg?" Annie Looks At Reiner, "Can I Go Now?" She Asks, In Her Usual Bored Tone and Reiner Shakes His Head and Snaps, "Not Yet! We Train Until You Take Away The Dagger From Your Opponent!" Eren Looks At Him and Begins To Protest, "Hey! Wait A Second!" Annie Grunts and Eren Yells, "Annie, Wait! There's A Way You're Supposed To Do This!" Eren Lets Out A Yelp As Annie Floors Him and She Throws The Dagger Back To Reiner and Growls, "Here. Now It's Your Turn To Attack Me" Reiner Shakes His Head and Stammers, "N-No…. I'm" Eren Glares At Him and Says, "Get Her, Reiner!" Reiner Looks At Him With A Terrified Look and I Chuckle.

Eren Tries To Get Out Of His Current Predicament As He Says, "You're Gonna Teach Her The Responsibility Of Being A Soldier, Right?" Reiner Nods and Grunts, "Yeah… There Are Times A Soldier Can Never Back Down. This Is One Of Them" Annie Floors Him Before He Can Finish His Sentence and I Cross My Arms and Mina Says, "Damn… Annie Is Good" I Nod and I Watch As Eren Asks, "Your Technique Is Incredible. Somebody Taught You, Right?" Annie Sighs and Grunts, "My Father" Intrigued, Eren Asks, "Did He Come Up With Those Moves?" Annie Turns To The Boy and Snaps, "It Doesn't Matter. None Of This Has Any Meaning" Eren Sends Her A Questioning Look and Asks, "Huh? You Mean This Training? It's Meaningless….?"

Annie Nods and Says, "This One-On-One Combat Doesn't Count For Any Points. Look At How The Passionate Applicants For Interior Duty, Including Danielle and I, Treat It. We Use This Time To Unwind After The Rough Training Earlier. The Others Either Take It Seriously, Like You Guys… Or Act Like Idiots" Annie Picks Up The Dagger and Eren Watches As Shadis Walks Over To Sasha and Connie and He Yells, "Uh-Oh! The Instructor!" I Roll My Eyes and Annie Dives Towards Eren.

Annie Brings The Dagger To Eren's Neck and Growls, "Anyway, Vertical Manoeuvring Skills Are Worth A Lot Of Points, So That's All Danielle and I Care About. See, We're Not Aiming To Be Great Soldiers. We Just Want The Right To Live In The Interior. Why Is It That In This World The People With The Best Ability To Oppose The Titans Get The Privilege Of Staying Far Away From Them? How D'you Think It Got To Be Such A Farce?"

Eren Grabs Her Wrist and Snaps, "Good Question!" Annie Swings Her Legs Around and Sweeps His Feet From Out Under Him and He Lands On His Ass and He Yelps, "WHOA!" Annie Tries To Push The Blunt, Wooden Blade Closer To Eren's Throat As She Grunts, "Perhaps, It's Human Nature? Mine and Danielle's Fathers Were Just Like You Two…. Carried Away With Ideals That Had Nothing To Do With Reality. Even As Kids, We Knew It Was Crap But Our Dads Made Us Learn These Pointless Moves, and We Were Too Young To Defy Them. I Refuse To Be One Of Those Morons Who Enjoys Playing Soldier In This Pathetic World" Annie Drops The Blade and Begins To Walk Off. Reiner Chuckles and Says, "Seems To Me Like You're Just Not Meant To Be A Soldier" Annie Sends Him A Glare and She Walks Towards Me.

I Wrap My Arms Around Her Waist and I Murmur, "Hello Beautiful" I Kiss Her Cheek and I Pull Away and We Walk Towards The Mess Hall With Mina Trailing Behind. I Take Annie's Hand As Mina Walks Ahead and I Turn To My Girlfriend and I Ask, "Are You Alright?" Annie Nods and Asks, "Promise Me Something?" I Nod and Answer, "Anything" Annie Turns To Me and Asks, "Promise Me That It Will Always Be Just The Two Of Us, Forever and Always" I Nod, "I Promise That It Will Always Be Just The Two Of Us, Forever and Always" I Promise. Annie Nods and She Pecks My Lips and We Continue Walking.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Devils Inside - Chapter 9 – Graduation**

 **At Dinner**

I Rest My Head On My Hand As I Eavesdrop On The Conversation With Jean and Marco. "At Times Like That You Should Rev It Up, Just For A Second. That Way You Use The Inertia and Don't Consume As Much Fuel. Of Course, That Kind Of Move Can't Be Pulled Off By Just Anyone" Jean Says Confidently and I Turn My Attention To Armin.

"Eren's Right, Before The Fall Of Wall Maria, Vertical Manoeuvring Techniques Were Only Necessary For The Relatively Few Soldiers In The Survey Corps So No Innovations Were Made and The Practice Went Into Decline. To Keep The Techniques From Dying Out, They Had To Raise Their Value By Promising People A Life In The Interior. But They've Kept That Up Even After We Lost A Wall, So Now Everyone's Trying To Get In…. At This Rate, Soon They Will…. Eren Are You Listening To Me?" Armin Points Out To His Friends and His Question Is Confirmed When He Notices, Eren Staring At Jean.

Jean Chuckles and Says, "But Just Because I'm Really Good With Vertical Manoeuvring Doesn't Mean I Want Word To Get Around! Then Competition'll Get Tougher" Eren Growls and Says, "Hey Jean…." The Beige Haired Boy Looks At Him and Asks, "What Eren?" Eren Narrow His Eyes and Growls, "Damn It… Don't You Think It's Crazy? This Plan To Improve Titan-Killing Techniques By Promising A Life Far Away From The Titans" Jean Smirks, and Answers, "Well… You May Have A Point But That's Reality, So All I Can Do Is Go With The Flow. After All, They Keep This Stupid Plan Around For People Like Me." I Groan Under My Breath and As If On Cue, Eren Stands Up.

Eren Glares At Jean and Yells, "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Jean Stands Up Too and Yells, "WHAT, JEALOUS BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE ANY TALENT?!" Reiner Laughs At Them and Yells, "There They Go Again!" Annie Grunts and Snaps, "Not Again" I Nod and Growl, "Why Don't They Give It A Rest" Eren Steps Away From His Table and Yells, "LOOK! TELL ME HOW TO BEAT THE TITANS WHEN EVERYONE WITH ANY POTENTIAL SHUTS THEMSELVES UP IN THE INTERIOR" Jean Laugh and Says, "Well, Don't Complain To Me… I Mean" Jean Stops For A While and Then He Grabs Eren's Shirt.

"I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU!" Jean Yells Angrily and Eren Replies, "ASSHOLE. YOU GRAB ME LIKE THAT MY CLOTHES ARE GONNA RIP!" Jean Barks Out A Laugh and Roars, "WHO CARES ABOUT YOUR CLOTHES?! I ENVY YOU!" Eren Gets Ready To Punch Jean As He Spits, "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? IF YOU DON'T BACK OFF…"

Eren's Eyes Meet Mine, Annie's and Reiner's and He Stops Ranting. He Smirks and Uses One Of Annie's Fighting Techniques To Floor Jean. I Turn To Annie When She Lets Out A Small Gasp and I Turn Back To The Two Boys. Jean Rubs His Head and Yells, "JACKASS! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Eren Smirks and States, "That Was The Move I Learned The Hard Way While You Were Lying Around. You Say Reality Is Living An Easy Life and Giving Into Your Feelings? How Can You Call Yourself A Soldier?" I Bite My Tongue To Hold In A Sharp Remark.

Jean Stands Up and Growls, "What'd You Say About Being A Soldier?" The Door Creaks Open To Reveal Shadis and Jean and Eren Go Back To Sitting Down. Shadis Scans The Room and Says, "I Just Heard A Loud Noise In Here. Can Anyone Give Me An Explanation?" Mikasa Raises Her Hand and Explains, "It Was Sasha Letting Out A Huge Fart" I Let Out A Chuckle and I Look At Mina Who Is Trying To Hold In A Laugh and I Bite My Lip As I Shake With Laughter.

Shadis Looks At Sasha and Growls, "You Again, Eh? Learn Some Self Control…." When Sasha Gasps, He Walks Out and Closes The Door Behind Him. Eren Smirks At The Boy Opposite Him and He Points Out, "That Was Close, Jean. You Almost Lost Your Chance To Become An MP Over A Stupid Fight" Jean Chuckles and States, "The Trouble Is It's Not Over Between Us But I Can't Afford To Take Care Of This Here" Eren Nods and Growls, "I Have An Idea. We Have Time To Scuffle Out In The Open, Don't We? I'll Wait Until You're Ready"

 **The Next Morning**

Eren Walks Up To Annie and I and Asks, "Hey Guys? Does It Look Like Jean Is Slacking Off To You?" I Shake My Head In Response and Annie States, "No, Not Really But It's Not Like He's Working Hard To Become A Great Soldier. He's Doing It So He Can Pay You Back" I Rest My Arm Around Annie's Shoulders As We Continue To Watch Jean.

Eren Smirks and Chuckles, "Oh, I'm Sure He Is Serious About Learning The Moves But… Anyway, What Did You Think Of My Kick? I Was Just Imitating What You Did, But It Worked Perfectly" Annie Crosses Her Arms and Grunts, "It Sucked. Not Even Close." I Nod and Say, "She's Right Yeager" Eren Looks At Us and Asks, "Seriously? What Was Wrong With It?" I Smirk, and I Am About To Reply When Annie Beats Me To It.

She Turns To Him and Says, "If You Like It That Much…. I Wouldn't Mind Teaching It To You" I Smirk and Eren Shakes His Head In Fear "Huh? No Thanks! It Really Hurts…"

He Admits and Annie Smirks and Grunts, "Oh Please, I Insist" I Peck Annie's Lips and I Say, "Have Fun You Two. I'm Going To Study With Armin For Our Classes Tomorrow. Eren, Try Anything and I'll Put You Down" Annie Smirks and She Pecks My Lips and Murmurs, "and I'll Do The Same With Armin If He Tries Anything With You" I Chuckle and I Walk Off.

 **In The Library With Armin**

I Place My Bag Down and I Say, "Hey Armin" The Blonde Boy Looks At Me and Says, "Oh Hey Danielle. I Didn't Think You Would Show Up" I Sit Down Next To Him and I Say, "It Gives Me A Chance To Bond With One Of My Comrades" Armin Nods and We Begin Studying. I Flip Through A Book About Ymir Fritz and I Get Onto A Page and I Read Through It.

My Eyebrows Crease Together and I Nudge Armin and I Say, "Armin…. Look" He Looks Over and Asks, "Who's Lena Redwolf?" I Stroke My Jaw and I Say, "If My Family Knowledge Is Correct Then She Married Ymir Fritz After She Acquired The Power Of The Titans." Armin Looks At Me and Gasps, "Do You Know What This Means?!"

I Raise A Brow and Ask, "What Does It Mean?" Armin Grins and He Continues, "This Means You Are A Direct Ancestor To Ymir Fritz! You Are A Part Of Her Bloodline So That Means You Have Royal Blood!" I Look At Him and I Ask, "Really?" Armin Nods and Answers, "Yeah! That Is So Cool!" I Grin, and We Continue Studying.

 **The Next Day – In Class**

I Sit At The Back Of The Class With Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt As We Listen To The Teacher Drone On About Titans. I Lean On My Hand and The Teacher Says, "What We've Learned About Titans, Such As Their Mode Of Life, We Owe To The Latest Reports By The Survey Corps. We Haven't Been Able To Confirm Whether The Titans Possess Humanlike Intelligence. Therefore, There Is No Precedent For Mutual Understanding Between Our Races." I Sigh and Grumble, "No Shit Dumbass" Loud Enough So Only Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt Can Hear It.

Annie Elbows Me Hard and Growls, "Shut Up. We're Doing Recon Remember. We Need To Know How Much These Devils Know About The Titans" Into My Ear and I Nod With A Sigh As The Teacher Continues, "The Structure If The Titan Body Is Fundamentally Different From Other Living Beings. They Have No Sexual Organs and The Method By Which They Reproduce Is Unknown. Most Of Them Tend To Have A Male Physique. Their Bodies Have Extremely High Temperatures and, Strangely, They Show Absolutely No Interest In Other Lifeforms Other Than Humans"

I Pull The Leather-Bound Journal From My Shirt Pocket and I Begin Writing Down A Recon Report As The Teacher Continues, "The Titans Sole Behavioural Principle Is Eating Human Beings But When We Consider That They Existed In An Environment Devoid Of People For Over 100 Years We May Make The Conjecture That Titans Don't Actually Need To Eat" I Look Up From The Journal and I Feel Paper Hit My Head. I Look Over At Reiner and He Nods At The Paper. I Pick It Up and I Open It. "He's Stating The Obvious Now" Is Sprawled On The White Page In Reiner's Untidy Handwriting and I Write "I Know. I'm Getting Sick Of These Devils and We Have Only Been Here For A Few Years.".

I Pass It Back To Him and He Reads It and Nods In Agreement. I Continue Writing My Recon Report As The Teacher Continues, "In Other Words, Their Purpose Isn't Predatory But Rather Purely Killing" I Hear Murmuring and Annie Grumbles, "No Shit Idiots" Under Her Breath and I Hum In Agreement.

The Teacher Looks Back At His History Book and Says, "Also, The Main Reason The Human Race Has Been Driven Into A Corner Is The Titans Astounding Ability To Survive." Everyone Stops Murmuring and They All Look At Him "Since Long Ago, Humanity Has Possessed Enough Power To Blow The Titans Heads Off. However, That Enough Wasn't Enough To Cope With Them. There Are Individual Differences, But In Most Cases, Heads That Are Blown Off Regenerate In One To Two Minutes," He Continues. Everyone Starts Murmuring Again and Marco's Hand Shoots Up and He Asks, "So Then Are The Titans Invulnerable?!" I Shake My Head and I Say, "No, Nothing Is Invulnerable. You Just Have To Know The Weak Spots. In A Titans Case, There Are Three Weak Spots But Only One Will Kill Them, The Others Will Slow Them Down…"

The Teacher Cuts Me Off and Says, "Thank You Miss Redwolf. This Is My Class and If You Don't Mind, I Will Continue To Teach It" I Slouch Back In My Chair and The Teacher Draws A Diagram On The Board and He Draws A Circle Around The Nape and Says, "Aim For Right Here. This Area Below The Occipital Region, At The Nape Of The Neck. If A Titan Sustains Major Damage Here, It Doesn't Regenerate and Dies."

I Roll My Eyes and He Motions To The ODM Gear On The Desk and Continues, "For That Very Purpose, You Must All Master This Vertical Manoeuvring Equipment. At Present, The Most Efficacious Means Of Repelling The Enemy Is Through Combat Skills That Make The Best Use Of Mobility."

I Close My Journal and I Place It Back In My Pocket and I Cross My Arms and The Teacher Says, "Each Hand Uses The Grip Of This Device To Operate The System. The Firing Mechanism At Both Sides Of The Waist Launches An Anchor. Steel Wires Discharged From Inside A Cylinder Is Reeled In Through Pressurised Gas."

He Picks Up A Blade and Continues, "This Replaceable Blade Is Your Weapon. In Order To Cut Through A Chunk Of Tough Meat, The Blade Is Made To Be Flexible" Bertholdt Passes Me A Piece Of Paper and I Open It. "It's Obvious That They Don't Know About The Shifters. I Think Were In The Clear For This Whole Operation" Is Sprawled Across The Page In Bertholdts Neat Handwriting and With A Light Chuckle I Write, "Don't Jinx It Now. There Is Still A Chance That They Could Learn."

I Pass The Note Back and He Reads It and Hums. I Look Back At The Teacher When I Hear Scratching On The Chalk Board and He Says, "You Use These Two Blades To Slice Through The Area. If The Attack Hits The Titan's Vital Spot, It Dies Instantly Before It's Regenerative System Can Kick In." The Bell Rings, Signalling That Class Is Over and We All Gather Our Books and Walk Out.

 **A Few Hours After Class**

Annie and I Sit With Reiner and Bertholdt and Annie Says, "While You Three Were Tuckered Out After Playing Soldiers With Your Friends, Meanwhile I Was Crawling Around The Sewers In The Royal Capital." I Look At Her and She Continues, "The Man In The Black Coat Was Different From The Imbeciles We Have Been Around For The Past Few Years. He Was Skilled and I Narrowly Avoided Capture."

I Clench My Fist and She Laces Our Fingers and Continues, "He Might've Seen My Face. So, If I Join The MPs and He's There Then I Can't Do Anymore." Reiner Looks Down and Says, "So That's It?" I Look At The Blonde Boy and Annie Plays With My Fingers and Says, "It's Almost Been Five Years Since That Day So Let's Go Back To Marley With The Information We Have. They'll Be Happy To Hear Anything At All"

Reiner Looks Up At Her With An Evil Look In His Eyes and He Snaps, "Do You Really Fucking Believe That?" I Glare At Him and Reiner Continues, "I'm Sure Marley Will Be Disappointed If These Five Years Of Results Are All We Bring Them" I Rub My Eyes With My Free Hand "So Then What Do We Do? No Scratch That, What Else Can We Do?" Annie Asks. Reiner Stands Up and Says, "We Destroy Wall Rose. Whether Or Not The King Has Vowed To Renounce War Or Not, That's The Only Way Left For Us To Smoke Out The Founder."

Bertholdt Looks At Me and Says, "Danielle? Are You Alright?" I Nod and Say, "Yeah. I'm Fine Bert." Reiner Rolls His Eyes and Continues, "The Day Our Training Corps Class Is In Trost District Is The Same Day That The Survey Corps Will Be Going Beyond The Walls. Even The Training Corps Will Be Forced Into Action If We Create As Much Chaos As Possible"

I Nod and Say, "That Could Work. Considering We Are In Trost District Tomorrow For Graduation" Annie Nods and Asks, "Do You Guys Know What Order We Are In? For Rankings?" I Nod and Say, "Yeah. I Overheard Shadis and Someone Talking" Reiner Raises A Brow and Asks, "What Order Are We In?" I Look At Him and I Point To Each Of Us In Order As I Say, "Me, Annie, Bertholdt and Then You" Reiner Narrows His Eyes and Snarls, "Bullshit! Bertholdt Doesn't Have The Courage Or The Balls To Even Rank In The Top Ten! Let Alone Third!" I Smirk and Say, "Well Jokes On You Because Bertholdt Had Ranked Third Just From One Training Session. You Were Last Until Your Score Was Bumped Up In Hand To Hand Combat Training!"

Reiner Growls and Says, "I Knew Commander Magath Made A Mistake When Making You The Wolf Titan" I Stand Up and I Grab His Shirt and I Snarl, "Shut Your Mouth Before I Shut It For You. Now Finish What You Were Saying and Get Out Of My Sight!" Reiner Gulps and Nods. I Let Him Go and Reiner Continues, "In The Confusion, We Can Even Slip Into The Huge Crowds Of Refugees That Will End Up Flooding The Royal Capital Or Better Yet, Depending On The Situation, We Can Even Continue Being Soldiers. With The Guarantee That We'll Be In The Top Ten, We Can Wait To Graduate and Become MPs In The Interior and Move As The King Of The Wall Moves. That Will Put Us In The Best Position To Strike"

Annie Rubs Her Eyes and Says, "A Lot Of Your Friends Will Die. Maybe All Of Them" Reiner Growls and He Walks Forward and Snaps, "How Many Times Have I Told You? They Aren't Our Friends. They Aren't Like Us. They're Eldian Devils. But It Doesn't Hurt For Us To Gain Their Trust Either. If Anything, Your Attitude Of Isolating Yourself Is Elegantly..." Annie Cuts Him Off By Groaning, "I'm Going To Puke" Annie's Blue Eyes Meet Reiner's Gold Ones and She Says, "Could You Please Not Put Your Face So Close To Mine?"

Reiner Smirks and Says, "Am I Making You Uncomfortable?" I Stand Up and I Push Him Back and I Snap, "Back The Fuck Off Braun." He Shakes His Head and Says, "You Must Be Tired. I Feel Bad For Always Putting The Burden On Your Shoulders." The Sarcasm In His Voice Begins To Annoy Me When He Walks Off and Says, "Let's Leave It At That For Today". I Flip Him Off and Bertholdt Says, "Something Has Snapped In Reiner's Head." I Nod and Say, "He's Gone Stark Raving Mad."

Annie Sighs and Bertholdt Says, "I've Been Seeing The Same Dream Over and Over... I'm Dreaming Of The Old Man Who Hanged Himself In That Settlement. I Always Wondered Why He Told Us That Story Before He Put The Noose Around His Neck..." Reiner Turns His Head and Glares Daggers At The Boy Before He Storms Away From Us. I Sigh, and I Say, "We'll See You Tomorrow Bertholdt" He Nods and Annie and I Walk Back To The Barracks.

 **The Next Day**

Danielle's PoV

I Stand Next To Annie In Front Of All The Commanders and The Training Commander Yells, "Now That You Have Completed Your Training, You Have Three Choices.

The Garrison, Which Reinforces The Walls, Thereby Protecting All Of The Towns.

The Survey Corps, Prepared To Sacrifice Their Lives Outside The Walls By Defying The Titans In Their Own Domain.

and The Military Police Brigade, Which Exercises Control Over The Kings Subjects and Maintains Order.

Of Course, Out Of You Raw Recruits, The Only Ones Who Can Join The Military Police Brigade Are The Ten With The Highest Scores.

1st Danielle Redwolf

2nd Annie Leonhardt

3rd Bertholdt Hoover

4th Reiner Braun

5th Sasha Braus

6th Mikasa Ackerman

7th Eren Yeager

8th Connie Springer

9th Jean Kirschtein

10th Krista Lenz

Soon, I'll Be Asking You Which Branch You Want To Be Assigned To. But As Of Right Now, The 104th Training Corps Is Officially Disbanded! Dismissed!"

I Stand There With A Stoic Expression On My Face and We All Yell, "Yes Sir!" and We All Get Sent To The Mess Hall.

I Sit With Annie and She Rests Her Legs On My Lap and I Ask, "Comfortable?" She Nods and I Take A Large Gulp Out Of The Drink On The Table and I Hear, "Lucky Bastards, Making The Top Ten! I'm Sure You're Gonna Join The Military Police Brigade, Right?" I Look Over At Jean and He Replies, "That Goes Without Saying! Why The Hell Else Would I Have Aimed To Crack The Top Ten?!" His Friend Marco Grins and Says, "I'm Going With The MPs, Too. Getting To Work Near The King...It's An Honour!"

Jean Hits The Back Of His Head and Asks, "Are You Still Playing The Goody-Goody, Marco?" Marco Looks At Me and Jean Continues, "Tell Me How You Really Feel... You Can't Wait To Get Into The Interior, Right?" With A Grin On His Face, Jean Slams His Fist On The Table and Yells, "WE CAN FINALLY ESCAPE THIS SHITTY SUFFOCATING FRONT LINE TOWN! A SAFE, COMFORTABLE LIFE IS WAITING FOR US IN THE INTERIOR, RIGHT?" I Chuckle and Marco Yells, "Shame On You! At Least I'm Not..." Jean Cuts Him Off and Yells, "Oh Sorry! My Bad! I Forgot You Were A Prize Pupil!"

I Roll My Eyes and Jean Points At A Group Of People, Splashing His Drink Everywhere In The Process As He Asks, "But What Would You Guys Do? I Mean, Getting The Chance To Live In The Interior, It's Almost Unheard Of, Right?! Or Given The Choice, Would You Rather Stay Here In This "Human Stronghold", Or Whatever They Like To Call It?!"

I Grunt, and Someone Replies, "Well, None Of Us Asked To Be Born In This Border Town, So If It Means Not Having To Cower In Fright When You Hear Titan Foot-Steps..." Jean Cuts Them Off and Says, "Good Answer, You'd All Like To Go To The Interior, Right?" He Sits At Our Table and Asks, "So How About You Guys?"

Bertholdt Smirks and Replies, "I'm Applying To The Military Police Brigade" Annie Nods and She Downs Her Drink and Says, "Me Too But I Don't Want Anyone To Think I'm Like You" I Shake My Head and I Grunt, "I Came Here To Save Humanity. Not To Cower In Fear. I'm Going To The Survey Corps" Eren Sends Me A Grin and Pipes Up, "At Least Someone Has Some Sense!" Jean Laughs and Asks, "The Survey Corps? Really? Someone Of Your Skill Would Be Wasted On Them. Especially If You Die" I Roll My Eyes and I Watch As Yeager Stands Up and I Mumble, "This Should Be Good" In Annie's Ear and Eren Says, "Hey...You Said That The Interior Is Comfortable? Until Five Years Ago, This Town Was Part Of The Interior, Too" Jean Looks At Him and Eren Continues, "Jean, You Don't Have To Go To The Interior. I Mean, Isn't The Interior Of Your Brain Soft Enough For You?" I Hold In A Laugh and I Watch As Reiner's Drink Explodes Out Of His Mouth and Nose and Goes All Over Armin.

Mikasa Grabs The Boys Sleeve and Mutters, "Eren... Don't." Jean Spins His Chair Around and Asks, "Are You Trying To Say That I'm An Idiot, Eren?" When Eren Doesn't Reply, Jean Continues, "Well, I'm Not. I'm Looking At Reality. More Than Anyone Here" I Rest My Arm Around Annie's Chair and Jean Continues, "Four Years Ago, Twenty Percent Of The Human Population Was Sent Out To Recover Territory Stolen By The Titans. An All-Out Attack Was Launched."

Jean Rubs His Eyes and Continues, "and Most Of Them Ended Up Walking Straight Onto A Titan's Mouth, Swallowed Whole. How Many More Would We Have Needed To Retake Our Land? For Every one Of Them That We Defeated, An Average Of 30 Humans Died. However, The Number Of Titans That Dominate This Planet Is A Lot More Than 1/30th Of The Human Race. I Think It's Crystal Clear. Humanity Doesn't Stand A Chance Against The Titans" Jean Sighs and He Groans, "Look... It's Like A Funeral In Here, Thanks To You" Eren Scoffs, "So What?" He Asks.

Eren Walks Closer and Jean Asks, "Huh? Were You Listening To Me?" Eren Looks Down At Him and Snaps, "So What You're Saying Is, "I Don't Think We Can Win, So I'm Giving Up." Tell Me... What's So Good About Giving Up? Is It Better To Escape From Reality, To The Point Where You're Throwing Away Your Hope?" I Look At Him and He Continues, "In The First Place, It's A Given That We'd Lose To The Titans In Material Terms. One Of The Causes Of The Defeat Four Years Ago Was Our Ignorance About The Titans... We Lost Then, But The Information We Gained Will Surely Lead To Our Hope For The Future." I Finish My Drink Off and He Continues, "and Yet You're Going To Give Up On Developing Strategies To Fight Them? Do You Want To Be Titan Food That Badly? Give Me A Break."

He Stops To Take A Breath and Then Says, "I Have A Dream... It's To Exterminate The Titans and Leave This Cramped Walled-Up World. My Dream Is To Explore The Outside World" Jean Stands Up With A Laugh, "What The Hell Are You Talking About?! You Must Be The One With The Soft Noggin!" Eren Clenches His Fist and Growls, "What?" Jean Smirks and Says, "Look At Them! Not A Single Person Here Agrees With You!" Eren Clenches His Eyes Closed and Snaps, "Okay... You're Right. I Got It"

I Let Out A Laugh and Everyone Looks At Me When I Say, "Look At You Two. Fighting Like A Married Couple. Eren Has A Point If You Use Your Brain Kirschtein. Unlike The MPs, The Survey Corps Have Humanities Strongest Soldiers and Mikasa and I Are Two Of Them. What Do The MPs Have? Nothing! The Best Soldier That The MPs Will Have Is Sat Right Here!" I Jab My Thumb Towards Annie Who Lifts Her Drink To Her Lips With A Smirk On Her Face.

Both Boys Look At Me and I Smirk At Them and They Turn Back To Each Other and Eren Growls, "So Why Don't You Shove Of To The Interior... Having A Defeatist Here On The Front Lines Is Bad For Morale!" Jean Laughs and Snaps, "Of Course, That's Just What I'm Going To Do, But You Wanna Go Outside The Wall, Right? Go On Ahead! The Titans You Must Love So Much Are Waiting For You!"

I Roll My Eyes and Eren Hisses, "Pain In The Ass" Jean Smirks and They Both Swing Punches At Each Other. Connie Shoots Up and Yells, "WHOA! THERE THEY GO AGAIN!" I Grunt and Annie Says, "Pathetic..." I Nod and Reply, "Exactly. That's What These Devils Are Like. Pathetic Imbeciles That Fight Among Themselves Like Wild Dogs." Jean Pushes Eren Away and Yells, "COME ON, EREN! WHAT'S WRONG?! IF YOU'RE HAVING TROUBLE AGAINST ME, A MERE HUMAN THEN YOU'RE NOT FIT TO GO UP AGAINST TITANS!" Eren Roars In Anger As He Brings His Knee Up To Connect With Jean's Gut and He Yells, "OF COURSE NOT, IDIOT!"

Reiner Sighs and Yells, "Hey! That's Enough! Jean, Did You Forget What Eren's Hand-To-Hand Combat Score Was?! It Was Top Of Our Class!" I Stand Up and I Grab Both Boys By Back Of Their Heads and I Slam Their Faces On My Knees and I Bark, "That's Enough! God! Some People Just Want To Enjoy A Quiet Drink With Their Friends But It Seems You Can't Be In The Same Room With Each Other Without Causing Shit!"

Everyone Looks At Me and Reiner Mumbles, "Or Was He Second To Danielle?" Mikasa Picks Eren Up and Walks Out With People Laughing At Eren and I Walk Back Over To Annie and I Sit Down. I Look Down At My White Pants and I Groan When I See The Blood Stains On Them.

Franz Stops In Front Of Jean and Chuckles, "Jean, If You Guys Keep Making A Racket, The Instructor's Gonna Come By!" Jean Glares At The Taller Boy and Growls, "This Is The Highlight Of The Farewell Party! Don't Fucking Stop Me!" Franz Grins and Says, "Um, No... I Think Watching Danielle Putting You and Eren In Your Place Was The Highlight Of This Party. Anyway, We've All Had Our Fill." Hannah Nods and Says, "Let's Stop Fighting Amongst Ourselves!" I Groan and I Stand Up and Walk Out Of The Mess Hall and Towards The Barracks With Annie Following Close Behind.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 10 – The Struggle For Trost Part 1**

Danielle's PoV

I Sit On The Edge Of Annie's Bed and I Stroke Her Cheek and She Smiles Slightly In Her Sleep. Mina Walks Over and Whispers, "You Must Really Care About Her. I Don't Think I Have Ever Seen You Two Apart Before" I Rub My Eyes That Are Dark From Sleep and I Say, "Annie and I Grew Up Together. She's Like My Twin" Mina Smirks and Says, "But I'm Guessing You're More Than Friends Now?" I Blush Hard and I Look At Her and I Say, "Yeah." Mina Grins and Giggles, "Awwwww!" I Stand Up After Placing A Kiss Against Annie's Temple and I Say, "We Better Go. We're Both On Fixed Cannon Duty". Mina Nods and We Walk Out Of The Barracks.

I Sit On The Edge Of The Wall and I Watch The Titans Below and I Hear, "What?! You're Joining The Survey Corps?" I Stand Up and I Look Over At Eren and He Continues, "Connie... You're Number Eight Right?! Before, You Said You Were Gonna Join The Military Police Brigade" Connie Looks At Him and Points Out, "Naturally, The Military Police Brigade Is Still A Wiser Choice"

Thomas Walks Over To Them and Chuckles, "Your Speech Last Night Had An Effect On Him" Eren Looks Surprised and Connie Yells, "WRONG! It Was The Thought Of Being In The Same Brigade As Jean! I Don't Wanna Be In The Same Branch As That Horse Looking Bastard" I Walk Over and I Say, "That Doesn't Explain Why You'd Join The Survey Corps. If You Want To Be Safe and Away From Jean Then Join The Garrison" Connie Looks At Me and Stammers, "S-Shut Up R-Redwolf! I Decided For Myself! The Survey Corps Is The Way To Go"

I Chuckle and Eren Looks At Me and Asks, "What About You Danielle?" I Look At Him and Point Out, "I Told You Last Night. I'm Joining The Survey Corps" Connie Turns Around and Asks, "What About Your Little Girlfriend? Isn't She Joining The MPB?" I Nod and Say, "Obviously"

Eren Raises A Brow and Asks, "and If You Die?" I Chuckle and State, "I Won't Die. I'm One Of Humanities Strongest Soldiers" Eren Rolls His Eyes and I Hear, "Pardon Me, But…." I Turn Around and I Ask, "What Have You Done Now Sasha?" Sasha Grins and Answers, "I Borrowed A Little Meat From The Senior Officers' Private Stock" I Hear Everyone Gasp and I Facepalm With A Groan.

Eren Gulps and Asks, "Sasha? Do You Wanna Get Thrown In Solitary?" Thomas Hides Behind Me and Connie Says, "You Know, You Really Are Dumb" Thomas Nods and Stammers, "Scary Dumb" Sasha Ignores The Comments and Continues, "Let's Split It Up Later. Slice It and Slap It Between Some Bread!" Connie Glares At Her and Snaps, "Put It Back!" Mina Agrees With Connie and States, "That's Right! Ever Since Our Territory Shrank, Meat Has Become Incredibly Precious!" Sasha Crouches Down To A Box and Answers, "Don't Worry" She Puts The Meat In The Box and Continues, "Once We Recapture Our Territory, We'll Be Able To Keep More Cows and Sheep Again"

Eren Looks At Her With A Raised Brown and Thomas Walks Out From Behind Me and Says, "I See Your Point. It'll Be Like A Celebration In Anticipation Of Regaining Wall Maria. Once We Eat It, All That's Left Is Preparing Ourselves For The Worst" Eren Looks At Him and Gasps, "Thomas" I Wrap My Arm Around Sasha's Neck and I Say, "Count Me In, Sasha!" Samuel Nods and Answers, "I'll Eat That Meat, Too!" Mina Nods and Replies, "I-I'll Have It, Too! So, Save Some For Me!" I Walk Back Over To My Cannon and Samuel Looks At Eren and Asks, "What Are You Standing There Speechless For, Eren? You Wanna Get Busted?" Mina Chuckles and Points Out, "It's Not Lunchtime Yet!" and She Walks Over To Her Cannon.

I Walk Over To Eren and I Rest My Hand On His Shoulder and I Say, "Before Long We'll Have Our Territory Back and Soon, We'll Be Out In The Thick Of It" Eren Smirks At Me and He Says, "We Can Win. Humanities Counterattack Begins Now!" A Lightning Strike Hits and I Spin Around and I See The Colossal Titan. His Cold Eyes Glare At Eren and He Blows Us Off The Wall Using His Steam.

I Grit My Teeth At The Burning Pain and I Hook Onto The Wall. I Hear A Loud Smash and I Look Down With A Smirk. Eren Looks At Me and He Pulls His Blades Out and I Get The Message and I Pull My Blades Out. I Look Down and I See Samuel Fall. Sasha Unhooks and I Yell, "Sasha! What The Fuck Are You Doing?!" She Shoots Her Hook At Samuel and It Grabs His Foot and She Yells, "Samuel! Don't Move!" Thomas Whimpers and He Stammers, "It Broke Through The Wall…"

Connie Nods and Stammers, "Again… The Titans Are Gonna Come In Again. Damn It! The Titans Really Are Gonna…" Eren Growls and Yells, "Sasha! Take Care Of Samuel!" I Look At Eren and He Yells, "Fixed Artillery Squad 4! Prepare For Combat!" Eren Glares At The Hand Clutching The Wall and He Continues, "The Target Is Here! The Colossus Titan! Don't Let This Chance Get Away! Only The Colossus Titan Can Destroy The Wall! If We Can Just Kill Him!" He Runs Up The Wall and I Follow Him. We Land Either Side Of The Colossus Titan and Eren Growls, "Hello There. It's Been Five Years, Huh?" The Colossus Titan Swings His Arm Around and I Jump Onto It and I Hook Onto His Flesh and He Takes Out The Cannons. Eren Does The Same and We Run Up Both Of His Arms and Eren Yells, "Danielle! Keep Him Occupied! I'll Go For The Nape!" I Shake My Head and I Am About To Reply When Eren Goes For The Nape and He Gets Blown Away By Hot Steam.

I Hook Onto The Wall and The Titan Disappears. I Look Down and I See Bertholdt Running Through The Gate. I Smirk and I Run Up The Wall and I Jump Down The Other Side and I Run Towards Bertholdt. I Sheathe My Blades and I Say, "That Was Close, Bert" He Smirks and States, "That Little Pipsqueak Is No Match For Me" I Chuckle, and I Say, "We Better Get To HQ" Bert Nods and We Run Towards HQ.

 **At HQ**

I Look Around and I See Annie Filling Up Her Cannisters. I Jog Over and I Say, "Annie" She Turns Around and Stands Up. She Punches Me In The Shoulder and Then In The Gut and Growls, "Where Were You?! "I Wince, and I Say, "I Was On Fixed Cannon Duty. I'm Sorry" Annie Nods and I Fill Up My Cannisters and I Hear, "You Trainees Passed The Graduation Drills! You're First-Class Soldiers Now!"

I Fill Up My Canisters and I Sharpen My Blades, Paying No Mind To The Sparks That Fly Off The End As I Hear, "This Is Your First Operation But We Expect You To Contribute!" I Press A Kiss On Annie's Forehead and I Say, "I'll See You After, Alright?" Annie Nods and Pleads, "Don't Die. I Know You, You'll Go Where The Fighting's Thickest. Just Don't Die" I Caress Her Cheek and She Leans Into My Touch and I Say, "I Promise I Won't Die. Same Goes For You" Annie Nods and I Run Outside.

I Stand Next To Eren and I Hear, "Just Like In Your Training, Each Squad Will Take A Different Street. You're Under Garrison Command!" I Look At Eren and He Nods At Me and I Hear, "Your Duties Are Support, Communications, Titan-Killing and Anything Else That's Needed!" The Captain's Eyes Scan Our Fear Filled Faces and He Continues, "The Garrison Will Take Vanguard, You Trainees Are Middle Guard and The Garrison's Elite Unit Will Be Rear Guard!" I Let Out A Breath "Time For Us Freeloaders To Pay Our Tab. We've Gotta Defend Wall Rose To The Death Until Every Last Man, Woman and Child Has Safely Evacuated"

I Clench My Fists and I Hear The Blood Pumping In My Ears "Oh, and As You're Aware, Deserting In The Face Of The Enemy Is Considered A Capital Offence. Be Prepared To Sacrifice Your Lives, People. DISMISSED!" We All Salute and Yell, "Yes Sir!"

I Run Over To Bertholdt and Jean Whimpers, "Why Did It Have To Be Today?! I'm Supposed To Go To The Interior Tomorrow!" I Roll My Eyes and I Say, "Bertholdt. Can I Speak To You?" He Nods and I Pull Him Over To The Side and I Say, "You Remember Our Callouts Right? From When We Would Playfight As Kids?" He Nods and Answers, "For You and Annie Its LeoWolf and For Reiner and I Its Reibert. For Me and You Its Wolfbert and For Reiner and You Is ReiWolf." I Nod and Say, "We Are On The Same Squad Right? Squad 19?" Bertholdt Nods and Answers, "Yeah. Marco's Squad" I Nod and Say, "We'll Use Those Callouts For Calculated Attacks. That Way, We Kill More Titans But Have A Lower Risk Of Being Killed" He Nods, and I Say, "Relay That To Annie and Reiner." He Nods Again and Runs Off. I Sigh and I Run Off To Join Marco.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 11 – The Struggle For Trost Part 2**

Danielle's PoV

I Stand Next To Marco and I Ask, "How Many Do You Count?" Marco Looks At Me and Answers, "34 Plus The Two That Just Came In" I Nod and Say, "That's 36 Plus The 17 That Are Already Rampaging The City" I Look At The Titans and I Sigh, "I Hope Jean, Sasha and Connie Are Alright" Marco Nods and Answers, "They'll Be Alright. I Know They Will" I Hear Boots Hit The Hard Tile and I Turn Around To See Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt.

I Send A Smile At Them and I Hear, "Squad 19! Go!" I Look At Marco and I Say, "You Hang Back!" Marco Raises A Brow But Nods and We Begin Running Towards The Titans. I Jump Up and Slice Through Two Titans and I Yell, "REIBERT!" Reiner and Bertholdt Nod and They Shoot Past and Slaughter The Titans Up Ahead. They Slow Down and Annie Yells, "LEOWOLF!" I Nod At Her and I Grab Her Hands and We Flip In The Air and She Throws Me Towards A Titan.

I Pull Out My Blades and I Shoot Around The Titan and I Watch As It Splits Into Tiny Pieces. We Land On A Roof and I Stretch, and I Say, "Nice One Guys" Marco Lands Next To Us and Gushes, "That Was Amazing" I Chuckle, and I Say, "Thanks Marco"

I Look Around Us and I See 5 Titans On The Left and 5 Titans On The Right. I Nod and Say, "Alright. Marco, You Will Be Our Callout Guy. Yell If You Spot Any Titans" He Nods, and I Say, "Rein, Bertl. You Go Left. Annie and I Will Go Right" They Nod and We Go Our Separate Ways.

After Killing The 10 Titans We Rendezvous With Marco and He Asks, "How Are You Guys So Good?" I Send Him A Grin and I Say, "Practice Makes Perfect" He Nods and We All Continue Killing Titans. We Land On A Roof With The Other Cadets and I Look Over At HQ and I Say, "Holy Shit…." Reiner Looks At Me and Asks, "What?" I Point At HQ and Say, "We Need To Refill Our Tanks. If We Don't Then We Can't Scale The Wall" Bertholdt Sighs and Groans, "Crap". I Feel Annie's Hand Slip Into My Jacket Pocket and Lace With Mine.

I Look Down At Her and I Kiss Her Forehead and I Hear, "Shit! What Do We Do?!" I Turn My Head and I Hear, "There Isn't Anything To Do. The Order To Evacuate Finally Came But We're Out Of Gas and Unable To Climb The Wall. I Guess We're All Dead Thanks To Those Cowards!" I Look Over At Jean and I Let Go Of Annie's Hand and I Murmur, "I'll Be Back In A Second" Annie Nods and I Walk Over To Jean.

I Sit Next To Him and I Say, "We'll Be Alright, Jean." Jean Looks At Me and Asks, "How Do You Know?! I Mean, I Can Understand Their Feelings. That They Just Lost The Will To Fight But They Shouldn't Have Abandoned Their Supply Mission and Holed Up In HQ. The Titans Are Gathering, So We Can't Get Over There To Replenish Our Gas!" I Send Him A Look and I Say, "You'll Never Survive While Being This Negative Jean" I Stand Up and He Asks, "How Can You Stay Positive During A Time Like This?"

I Look Down At Him and I Say, "I Think Of What I Have To Lose and That Spurs Me On To Protect Them At All Costs. Annie, Reiner, Bertholdt, You, Sasha, Connie, Mina, Armin, Eren and Mikasa. You Guys Keep Me Going Because I Know That, Through Heaven Or Hell, Fire Or Rain, I'll Still Be Fighting Even When My Time Is Up" Jean Stands Up and I Walk Back Over To Annie and The Others.

I Cross My Arms and Annie Asks, "Danielle? What Should We Do?" I Look At The Titans and I Answer, "We Wait. At Least Until They Gather 'Round" Marco Sighs and Answers, "There's No Way, No Matter How You Look At It. We Can't Get Out Of Town and We'll Be Exterminated. It's Not Like We're Not Prepared To Die But What The Hell Are We Dying For?" I Rub My Eyes and I Hear, "Mikasa! I Thought You Were With The Rear Guard!"

I Perk Up At The Sound Of Mikasa's Name and Mikasa Yells, "Annie!" Annie Turns Around and Mikasa Asks, "I Think I Have A Grasp Of The Situation and I Apologize For Bringing My Personal Feelings Into This But Have You Seen Eren's Squad?" Annie Shakes Her Head and Answers, "No, But Some Squads Have Made It Over The Wall" Reiner Nods and Answers, "Now That You Mention It, Armin Over There Was From The Same Squad" Mikasa Nods and She Walks Over To Armin.

I Scan The Other Cadets and Worry Fills My Gut When I Notice That Mina Isn't Here. I Look At Annie and I Ask, "Hey Annie? Did You See Mina When We Landed?" Annie Shakes Her Head and Answers, "No… I Didn't" Reiner Looks At Us and Asks, "The Carolina Girl?" Annie and I Nod, and I Say, "Yeah."

Annie Sighs and Answers, "I'm Sure She's Fine. She's Probably Just Caught Up" I Nod, and I Hear, "In Training Corps Squad 34…Thomas Wagner, Nac Tias, Mylus Zeramuski, Mina Carolina and Eren Yeager. Those Five Carried Out Their Mission and Died Bravely In Battle…."

I Turn To Annie and I Say, "I Know You Hate It When I Throw Myself Into The Face Of Danger For My Friends But I Have No Choice This Time" She Gives Me A Questioning Look and I Walk Over To Mikasa and I Rest My Hand On Her Shoulder and I Say, "I'm Behind You All The Way Mikasa. Let's Give Them A Good Send Off Eh?" Mikasa Looks At Me and Nods Firmly.

She Pulls Me Into A Side Hug and Walks Over To The Edge Of The Roof and Annie Grabs My Wrist and Pleads, "Danielle…. C'mon. Think About This" I Kiss Her Head and I Say, "Mikasa Will Do Something Stupid Now That Eren Is Gone So I'm Going To Be There To Support Her. You Know That She Has Become A Good Friend Of Mine, Annie" Annie Lets Go Of My Wrist and Says, "Just, Don't Get Yourself Killed To Protect Her" I Send Her A Cheeky Grin, and I Say, "I Won't. I'll Probably Get Seriously Injured But I Won't Die." Annie Punches My Shoulder and I Chuckle.

I Walk Over To Mikasa and She Says, "If We Eliminate The Titans That Are Swarming Around HQ, We'll All Be Able To Fill Up On Gas and Scale The Wall" She Turns To Marco and Asks, "Am I Wrong?" He Shakes His Head and Stammers, "N-No, You're Right. B-But Even With You and Danielle There…. Against That Many Of Them"

I Cut Him Off and Say, "We Can Do It" Mikasa Nods "We're Strong… Stronger Than All Of You…Extremely Strong! And That's Why…. We'll Be Able To Drive The Enemy Out Of There…. Even On Our Own." I Cross My Arms and Mikasa Continues, "But I Guess All Of You Are Useless, Cowardly and Pathetic. It's Really Too Bad. Stay Here…. And Suck Your Thumbs While You Watch Us."

I Smirk and Marco Yells, "Guys! What Are You Saying?! You Mean To Engage All Of Those Titans Yourselves? It's Impossible…" Mikasa Turns Around and States, "If We Can't Do It… We'll Just Die…. But If We Win, We Live… and If We Don't Fight…. We Can't Win" Mikasa Jumps Across To Another Roof and I Follow.

I Smirk As I Hear Jean Yell, "Hey! Were We Taught To Let One Of Our Own Fight Alone?! All Of You Really Will Make Cowards Of Yourselves!" Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt Catch Up To Me and I Hear Battle Cries From The Other Trainees. I Hear Someone Yell, "Follow Mikasa!" I Look Over At My Girlfriend and My Friends and They Nod At Me and I Use The Momentum I Have Gathered To Throw Myself Around A Titan and I Dive Down It's Throat and Cut It Up From The Inside.

I Burst Out, Covered In Blood and Saliva and I Land A Blow To Its Nape, and I Hear, "Holy Shit! That Was Badass!" I Smirk and Jean Yells, "Anyway, Let's Make This A Short, Decisive Battle And Get To Headquarters Before Our Gas Runs Out!" Connie Grins and Yells Back, "But Mikasa Is Amazing! How Can She Move That Fast?!"

Mikasa Suddenly Drops and I Yell, "Mikasa!" I Make A Move To Go After Her But Jean Grabs My Arm and Yells, "You Have To Lead Us Now!" I Look Back At The Others and I Nod, and We Continue.

We Stop Short Of HQ and I Stand Next To Jean and He Grunts, "We Can't Even Get Close To HQ. Not Unless We're Prepared To Sacrifice Ourselves." I Growl Under My Breath and I See A Guy On The Ground Who Has Ran Out Of Gas. A Titan Picks Him Up and I Hear, "Tom! We're Coming To Get Ya Buddy!" Jean Tries To Stop Them By Yelling, "It's Too Late! Don't Do It!" But His Attempts Are Futile As All Three Trainees Get Eaten.

I Clench My Fists and Bark, "Now!" I Jump Off The Roof and Jean Yells, "Head Straight For HQ While The Titans Are Occupied Over There! Either Way…. If We Run Out Of Gas, It's Over! Everyone Charge!" We Make It To HQ and We Crash Through The Windows and I Run Over To My Girlfriend and I Say, "Are You Ok?!" She Crushes Me In A Hug and I Say, "Are You Alright Annie?" She Nods Into My Shirt and Mumbles, "Yeah." I Nod and I Look Around and I Ask, "Wait…Where's Bert?" Reiner Points Out The Window and I See Bertholdts Run Out Of Gas Short Of The Window. I Climb Onto The Ledge and I Grab His Hand In A Firm Grip As He Falls.

He Looks Up At Me and I Smirk Down At Him As I Pull Him Up. He Scrambles Into The Window and I Pat His Shoulder and I Ask, "You Alright Bert?" He Nods and Croaks, "Thank You" I Nod and I Walk Over To Jean and He Stammers, "How Many Died On My Signal?" I Rest My Hand On His Shoulder and I Say, "Don't Think About It Jean. Trust Me".

Jean Nods and He Notices Two Members Of The Supply Squad Hiding Under A Desk. Jean Turns To Them and Says, "You Two…. You're The Supply Squad Right?!" They Both Nod and One Of Them Says, "Yeah" Jean Growls and Grabs The Guy By The Jacket and Punches Him In The Face.

I Flinch Slightly and Marco Grabs Jean and Yells, "Stop It Jean!" Jean Struggles and Yells, "It's Their Fault! They Left Us In The Lurch! More People Died Than Necessary Because Of You Bastards!" The Girl Looks Up At Jean As Tears Spill From Her Eyes and She Cries, "The Titans Invaded The Supply Point! There Was Nothing We Could Do!" Jean Growls and Roars, "Doing Something About It Is Your Job!" I Am About To Say Something When Reiner Yells, "Get Down!" I Turn Around and I Shield Annie From The Rubble When A Titan's Face Crashes Through The Wall.

I Stare At The Beast With Narrowed Eyes As A Ravenous Growl Spills From My Throat and I Hear, "Where Did Mikasa Go?!" I Look At Annie and The Others and I Bark, "Reiner! Bertholdt! Take Annie and Go With The Others!" Reiner Shakes His Head and States, "We're Not Leaving You, Danielle. Your Stuck With Us, Remember?" I Clench My Eyes Closed As I Pinch The Bridge Of My Nose and I Hear, "Stop! We Can't All Get Out At Once!" I Pull Both My Blades Out and Someone Yells, "Mikasa Ran Out Of Gas And Got Eaten On The Way Here!".

I Look Over At Jean and I Look Back At The Titans Just To See Them Get Punched Out Of The Way. My Eyes Widen and I Hear A Window Smash. I Turn My Head and Jean Yells, "Mikasa! You're Alive!" Connie Laughs and Says, "Damn, That Was Close. I'm Empty. We Did It…. Just Made It…" I Walk Over and I Say, "You Had Me Worried For A Second There, Mikasa" Mikasa Cracks A Small Smile and She Pulls Me Into A Hug. I Pat Her Back and I Say, "Don't Do Something That Stupid Again, Got It?" Mikasa Nods and Answers, "Yeah" I Nod and I Walk Back Over To Annie.

Connie Pats Armin's Back and Yells, "We Did It, Armin! Your Strategy Worked!" Armin Groans and Connie Continues, "Guys! That Titan Is A Fellow Titan-Killing Anomaly! And On Top Of That, It Has No Interest In Us! Mikasa and I Eliminated The Titans Around It and Led It Here, Where The Titans Are Swarming! If We Play Our Cards Right, We Can Use It To Escape From Here!" I Look At The Titan and I Watch As It Kills A Few Titans "You're A Shifter…. But Who Are You?" I Growl Under My Breath.

Jean Looks At Connie and Says, "Use A Titan? You're Saying It'll Help Us? That's Like A Dream…" Mikasa Looks At Him and Replies, "It's No Dream! I Don't Care If It's An Abnormal Or What, That Titan Is Going To Continue Its Rampage Here… Realistically, That's Our Best Means Of Surviving!" I Nod and Say, "Alright. It's Agreed, We'll Use This Titan To Distract The Others While We Deal With The Smaller Titans In The Supply Room. Then We Refill On Gas and Scale The Wall, Clear?" Everyone Nods, and I Nod and Say, "Good. Let's Go" We All Walk Down To The Floor Above The Supply Room.


	12. Chapter 12

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 12 – The Struggle For Trost Part 3**

Danielle's PoV

I Lean On A Wall and I Hear, "It'll Be Ok. That Titan's Stronger Than The Average Titan. As Long As It's Throwing Down With The Other Ones Then This Building Should Be Safe." I Look Over At Connie and Reiner Asks, "How Much Do You Three Know About That Titan?" Connie Is About To Reply When I Say, "Let's Worry About Getting Out Of Harm's Way Before We Discuss This" They Both Look At Me and Reiner Nods, "You've Got A Point…. Safety First" He Agrees.

I Nod and A Gate Swings Over and I Hear, "Found 'Em! Military Police Brigade Supplies Although Covered In Dust…" He Throws Me A Gun and I Check The Chamber and I Look Over At Jean As He Says, "Will Buck-Shot Really Even Do Anything? I Mean Using Guns…Against Titans" Armin Looks At Him "I Think It's A Lot Better Than Having Nothing and Even With This Degree Of Firepower, It Isn't Impossible To Incapacitate The Seven 3-4 Meter Class Titans That Are Occupying The Supply Room, and All At The Same Time" He Points Out.

I Crouch Down Next To Him and I Rest My Arm On His Shoulder and I Ask, "Alright Armin, How Are We Gonna Play This?" He Looks Down At The Map and Says, "First…We Use The Lift To Lower Most Of Us For The Centre Of The Ceiling. If Those Seven Titans Are "Normal", A Large Number Of People Should Be Enough To Draw Them To The Centre. Next, The People In The Lift Will Fire At The Seven Titans' Faces Simultaneously…. Thus, Robbing Them Of Their Vision"

I Nod, and He Continues, "and Then The Next Instant Will Decide Everything. Seven People Hiding Near The Ceiling Will Swoop Down In Time With The Firing and Slash The Titans' Vital Spot. In Other Words, Everything Rides On This Attack. All Of Our Lives Are At Stake. The Point Is For Seven People To Kill Seven Titans In One Stroke and All At Once. The Seven People With The Most Athletic Ability Probably Have The Best Chance Of Striking Home, So They'll Do The Job…. But, Um… I'm Sorry They'll Have To Bear The Burden Of Everyone's Lives On Their Shoulders. Danielle, You Will Be Used For Backup Should Things Go South"

I Pat His Shoulder As I Stand Up and I Say, "Don't Sweat It Armin." Reiner Nods and Agrees, "Yeah. No Problem" Annie Crosses Her Arms "The Risk's The Same No Matter Who Does It. If One Fails, Everyone Dies…" She Points Out. Armin Glares Down At The Paper and Asks, "But Is My Plan Really Our Best Option?" Marco Nudges His Shoulder and Says, "We've Gotta Go With It. There Isn't Time To Think Of Anything Else…. Besides, I Think We're All Trapped Out Of Ideas So We Just Need To Throw Ourselves Into This One, Heart and Soul!"

I Stand Up and Mikasa Says, "It'll Be Okay… Have Confidence… You Have The Ability To Lead People To Where They Need To Go, Armin. That Ability Has Saved My Life Before, Not To Mention Eren's." Armin Looks Surprised At This Comment "It Has? When?" He Questions. Before Mikasa Can Answer, Someone Yells, "The Lift Is Ready! All The Guns Are Loaded Too!" I Put My Gun Down and I Pull My Swords Out and Mikasa Replies, "You're Just Not Aware Of It But I'll Tell You More Later" Armin Nods and I Follow Connie, Reiner, Annie, Sasha, Bertholdt, Mikasa and Jean.

"But Will We Even Be Able To Kill Titans Without Our Vertical Manoeuvring Gear?" Connie Asks and I Nod and Reply, "Sure We Can Do It! The Enemy's Only In The 3-4 Meter Class. That Makes Their Weak Spot An Easy Target" Jean Grunts and Says, "Yeah… Doesn't Make A Difference How Big They Are, It's Always The Back Of The Neck, Below The Head." Sasha Nods "1 Meter In Length and 10 Centimetres In Width!" She In A Confident Tone.

Reiner Smirks and Holds Up One Of His Blades "Or You Can Stick This Up Their Assholes! That's Their Only Other Vital Spot!" He Comments Jokingly. Connie Looks At Him and Yells, "I Didn't Know That! So, There Are Two Ways?!" I Chuckle and Sasha Comments, "This Is The First Time I've Heard Of It" Jean Sighs and Points Out, "Reiner… Those Could Very Well Be Your Last Words." I Smile and I Say, "Reiner, Don't Be Stupid" Reiner Wraps His Arm Around My Neck With A Grin and I Feel A Kiss Get Placed On My Cheek. I Look Over At Annie As She Climbs Onto Her Beam. I Climb Onto Mine and I Blow Her A Kiss Which She Catches With A Roll Of Her Eyes.

I Watch The Guys In The Elevator and I Hear, "Yikes!" I Roll My Eyes "Calm Down… Let Them Get Closer!" He States Calmly, A Hint Of Fear In His Tone. Once The Titans Get Close Enough Marco Yells, "FIRE!" The Guns All Fire At Once and The First Seven Jump Off and Slice At The Napes. I Watch Sasha and Connie Miss and I Run Across My Beam and I Jump Down and I Kill The Titan Going After Sasha and Annie Gets The One Going After Connie.

I Put My Blades Back In Their Scabbards and I Turn To Sasha and She Cries, "Danielle! You Saved Me" I Look Down At Her and I Ask, "Are You Hurt Sasha?" She Shakes Her Head and Whimpers, "No! Thanks To You!" I Nod, and I Say, "Alright. Then Stand Up" She Nods and Rises To Her Feet.

I Walk Over To Annie and I Hear, "That Was Too Close Guys! I'm Glad Your Both Alright!" I Cross My Arms As Reiner and Bertholdt Walk Over and I Say, "Let's Stock Up and Then Get The Fuck Out Of Here" I Walk Over To One Of The Tanks and I Begin Filling Up Some Canisters. I Finish Filling Up Some Cannisters and I Say, "Let's Go" I Walk Over To Everyone Else and Annie Follows Behind.

I Watch Mikasa Climb Onto A Window and I Yell, "Oi Mikasa! We Have To Go!" She Ignores Me and I Follow Armin Up To The Roof. Armin Nudges His Friend and Says, "Mikasa…. If We Don't Get Out Of Here Soon…." She Cuts Him Off By Pointing and Muttering, "That Titan" I Look At Where She's Pointing, and I Say, "Holy Shit…" Armin's Eyes Widen and He Asks, "Cannibalism?" I Look At His Body and I Point Out, "He Isn't Regenerating…." Armin Gasps and Mutters, "I Thought…" Mikasa Cuts Him Off and Says, "If We Can Somehow Solve The Mystery Of That Titan… It Could Become An Opportunity To Help Us Find A Way Out Of This Hopeless Situation.

Reiner Climbs Up and Yells, "I Agree!" I Nod and Say, "If It Gets Eaten, The Whole Thing Will Be Over Without Us Understanding A Damn Thing!" Reiner Nods and Agrees, "Exactly! Let's Eliminate The Ones That Are Sticking To That Titan… For Now, To Try and Keep It Alive Longer" Jean Looks At The Blonde and Yells, "Reiner, Are You Insane?! We're Finally Able To Escape This Death-Trap!" Annie Looks At Him and Says, "But What About The Possibility That This Titan Could Become An Ally?"

I Nod and Say, "That Titan Would Be A Weapon More Powerful Than Any Cannon" Jean Looks At Us and Gasps, "An Ally, You Say?" We All Nod and Jean Yells, "Is That What You're Seriously Suggesting?!" Armin Gasps and I Turn To Him and He Whimpers, "Isn't That The Abnormal That Ate Thomas?" The Mysterious Titan Runs Forward and Grabs The Abnormal By The Nape and Holds Him Up.

I Cross My Arms and I Watch As The Titan Throws The Abnormal Into Another Titan and They Both Hit A Building. Jean Rests His Hand On My Shoulder and Asks, "What Was That About Helping Again?" I Shrug His Hand Off With A Growl and He Continues, "Not Surprisingly, Looks Like It Burned Itself Out." He Turns Around and Walks Down The Slope Of The Roof and Says, "So, Seen Enough? Let's Hightail It! There's No Way That Monster's On Our Side! Titans Are Titans" I Grab The Back Of His Jacket and I Bark, "Monster Or Not, That Titan Just Saved Our Asses A Whole Heap Of Trouble!"

Jean Turns To Look At Me and Growls, "Let Go Of Me Danielle" I Turn Him Around In My Grip and I Grab His Collar and I Hold Him Over The Edge Of The Roof and I Bark, "Will This Suffice, You Pampered Bastard?!" Jean Looks Into My Eyes That Have Darkened In Anger and He Whimpers, "I-I Was J-Joking" I Throw Him Back Onto The Roof and I Growl, "Don't You Fucking Dare Pussy Out Of This, Jean" and I Walk Back Up To The Others.

I Follow Them Up To The Top Of HQ and I Say, "Hold Up! Armin, Didn't You Say That Eren Was Dead?" Armin Nods and Says, "I-I Thought He Was…. Turns Out He Was The Titan" I Look At All The Bodies and I Say, "So Eren Did All This?" Everyone Nods, and I Say, "We Better Get To The Wall. The Evacuation Bell Sounded Ages Ago So We Have To Get Moving" They All Nod Again and We Climb To The Top Of HQ Where It's Safe.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 13 – The Struggle For Trost Part 4**

Danielle's PoV

I Lean On A Wall With A Stoic Expression On My Face and I Hear, "So That's How We Managed To Get Our Hands On The Gas." Christa Looks At Him and Gasps, "Oh My Gosh…. I'm Sorry… I Kept Volunteering To Help With Supplying Everyone." Ymir Rubs The Back Of Her Neck and Asks, "After Everything We Went Through To Secure That Gas…. Weren't You The One Who Jumped Down and Said You Were Going To Tell Everyone?"

Christa Looks Around and Says, "Th-Then Everyone Who Isn't Here Right Now Is…." Connie Nods and Grunts, "Yeah" Ymir Hums and Asks, "Are You Sure? Even Mikasa?" Connie Hums and Shakes His Head, "No…. I Thought Mikasa Got Back A Bit Late With Jean and The Others" He States. He Looks At Jean and Says, "Jean… Don't Tell Me Mikasa Was Injured?" Jean Looks At Him Stoically and States, "I Can't Say Anything… We Were Forced To Swear An Oath Of Secrecy. Although…. I Don't Know How Effective It's Gonna Be."

Connie Looks At Us and Asks, "You Were Ordered Not To Tell?" Ymir Scoffs and Growls, "Bullshit" I Walk Over and Say, "It's True. Anyway, It's Not The Kind Of Thing You Can Keep Covered Up…. I'm Sure The Whole Human Race Will Know About It Soon Enough." I Cross My Arms and Grunt, "That Is, If The Human Race Still Exists By Then" I Walk Back Over To Annie and I Sit On A Crate Across From Her and I Watch The Exchange Between Daz, Marco and Sasha.

I Scoff Quietly and I Am About To Say Something When Cannon Fire Cuts Me Off. Reiner Jolts Forward and Yells, "Cannon Fire?!" I Walk Over To Him and Jean Says, "Just One Shot?" My Eyes Widen and I Say, "That Came From Inside The Wall" Jean Raises A Brow and Asks, "Has The Floodgate Been Destroyed?" Reiner Shakes His Head and States, "Nah, That's The Most Fortified Spot. There's No Way…. I'm Sure Someone Just Dropped An Explosive" Jean Looks At Reiner Incredulously and Asks, "Still… What's With All That Smoke?!" I Gasp and Say, "It's Not Smoke! It's Steam Coming Off A Titan!" Reiner and I Use Our ODM Gear To Climb Up To The Roof and Annie and Jean Follow Closely Behind.

My Eyes Widen When I See The Half-Formed Titan and Reiner Grabs My Arm When I Try To Jump Down. I Growl As I Struggle Against His Hold and He Yells, "Danielle! Stop It! They'll Kill You If You Go Near It!" I Stop Struggling and I Watch As Armin Appears From The Steam. I Look At Him and I Growl, "Armin? What Are You Doing?".

Armin Looks At The Garrison Captain and Yells, "He Isn't An Enemy Of The Human Race! We Wish To Disclose All Of The Knowledge We Acquired About The Titans!" I Clench My Fists and The Captain Yells Back, "It's Meaningless To Beg For Your Lives! He Revealed His True Form Before Our Eyes! There's Nothing Left To Be Said! If You Claim He's Not A Titan, Show Me Proof! If You Can't Do That, I Will Eliminate The Threat!" I Look Back and Forth Between The Two and Armin Counters, "There's No Need For Proof! First Of All, How We See Him Isn't The Issue!"

The Captain Cuts Him Off and Yells, "Are You Out Of Your Mind?!" Armin Ignores Him and Continues, "You Said Everyone Saw Him! In That Case, They Must Have Seen Him Fighting The Titans! And They Must've Seen The Titans In The Area All Ganging Up On Him! In Other Words, The Titans Saw Him As Prey, Just Like Us! No Matter How Long We Think About This, That Truth Still Stands!"

I Look At The Captain and He Roars, "Prepare To Counter-Attack! Don't Be Taken In By This Clever Trap!" I Look Back At Armin and He Shouts, "Their Behaviour Has Always Been Beyond Our Understanding! I'm Saying They Could Have The Ability To Turn Into Humans! But We Can't Let Them Get Away With It Any Longer!" I Growl and Snap, "The Captain Has Given Up On Thinking Altogether! He Is Acting Purely On Fear Alone!"

Jean Is About To Reply When I Hear, "As A Soldier, I Vowed Long Ago To Dedicate My Heart To The Recovery Of The Human Race! If My Life Ends While Keeping That Vow, I Have No Complaints! But If You Combine His "Titan Power" With Our Remaining Military Force, It Might Even Be Possible To Recature This Town! For The Glory Of The Human Race, I Beg You! In The Moments I Have Left Before I Die! Let Me Explain His Strategic Value" The Captain Raises His Arm and Is About To Lower It When He Gets Stopped By Commander Pixis.

Pixis Smiles and Commands, "Stand Down." The Captain Looks At Him and Pixis Continues, "You Never Change. For A Man Of Your Size, You're As Delicate As A Fawn. Can't You See How Magnificent That Boys Salute Is? It Almost Rivals The Salute Made By Danielle Redwolf Herself But Of Course, Redwolfs Strive For Perfection So Everyone Has A Long Way To Go Before They Can Rival That Masterful Salute." I Cross My Arms and The Captain Gasps, "Commander Pixis!"

Pixis Looks At Armin, Eren and Mikasa and Says, "I Just Arrived But The Situation Was Relayed To Me By A Rider. As Of This Moment, I'm Putting You In Command Of The Reinforcements. I Have A Feeling It Would Be Worth Our While To Listen To What These Kids Have To Say" I Grin and Yell, "Armin!" I Jump Off The Roof and I Run Over To The Boy and I Say, "Good Job!" He Blushes Hard and Stammers, "I-It Was Nothing"

I Laugh and Say, "Nothing! Armin That Was Badass!" He Looks At Me With Grin and He Answers, "Thank You…" I Chuckle and State, "Your Welcome" I Wrap My Arm Around His Neck With A Laugh and He Lets Out A Laugh.

I Hear Someone Clear Their Throat and I Turn My Head and Say, "Commander Pixis" I Salute, and He Chuckles, "Your Salute Really Is Masterful Danielle." I Don't Faulter and I Say, "Thank You Sir!" He Nods and Says, "Stand Down." I Stand With My Hands Behind My Back and He Says, "You'll Come Up Onto The Wall With Me, Cadet Mikasa, Cadet Armin and Cadet Eren" I Nod and Say, "Yes Sir" and I Follow Him Up Onto The Wall.


	14. Chapter 14

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 14 – The Struggle For Trost Part 5**

Danielle's PoV

I Stand With Eren, Mikasa and Armin and I Hear, "Nope, Still Don't Spot One" Commander Pixis Sighs and Continues, "I Really Wouldn't Mind Being Eaten, As Long As It Was By A Stunningly Beautiful Lady Titan" I Smirk Internally and A Blush Rises On My Face When I Begin Thinking Of Annie.

Pixis Looks At Me and Asks, "Trainee Danielle? Are You Drunk?" I Shake My Head and I Say, "No Sir! I'm Just Thinking Of Someone Very Dear To Me" He Crosses His Arms and Says, "This Person Must Be Really Special Because Your Face Resembles A Tomato" I Rub My Neck and Look Away From The Garrison Commander. He Turns Around and I Block Out Most Of The Conversation. I Only Begin Paying Attention Again When Mikasa Hits Me On The Back Of The Head.

I Come To My Senses and I Hear, "I See, So You Believe That Basement Room Will Give You All The Answers?" Eren Nods and Replies, "Yes…. Can You Believe Me Sir?" Pixis Turns His Head To Look At The Boy and Says, "Even You Yourself Don't Have Convincing Proof… So, I Think I'll Just Keep It Filed Away In My Head For Now." He Looks At Armin and Mumbles, "Still… I Expect I'll Be Able To Get To The Bottom Of It, By and By. Until Then, I'll Personally Guarantee Your Safety"

Pixis Turns Around and Asks, "Trainee Armin… Is It?" Armin Salutes and Replies, "Yes Sir!" With Confidence In His Tone. Pixis Hums and Continues, "Earlier, You Mentioned That If We Used The "Titan's Power" Or What-Have-You, It Would Be Possible To Capture This Town, Trost District…. Do You Really Believe That? Or Were You Just Desperate To Stay Alive?" Armin Looks At Me and I Nod At Him and He States, "It Was Both Sir. What I Tried To Say Then Is That Eren Could Turn Into A Titan, Carry That Boulder Over To The Destroyed Gate, and Plug It Up."

I Keep The Stoic Expression On My Face and Armin Continues, "It's Just A Thought That Occurred To Me But I Was Hoping The Captain Would At Least Sense The Possibility That The Power Eren Possesses Could Help Get Us Out Of Our Current Predicament. Of Course, I Was Also Desperate To Save Our Own Lives." Pixis Nods and He Crouches Down In Front Of Eren and Asks, "Trainee Eren…. Can You Plug Up That Hole?"

Eren Nods "I'll Seal It Off, Sir! No Matter What!" He States Confidently. A Knot Forms In My Throat and Pixis Laughs, "Well Said! You're A Real Man!" Pixis Turns Around and Yells, "WHERE'S MY COUNCIL?! LET'S WORK OUT A STRATEGY!" Armin Gasps and Asks, "What?! But… Right Now?! It Was Just An Idealistic Notion I Had…. He Means To Carry It Out Now?!"

Eren Smirks Slightly and Says, "I Though The Same Thing, But Before We Actually Do Go Ahead With The Plan, There's A More Fundamental Problem. Commander Pixis Sees The Situation Correctly. The Titans Aren't Our Only Enemy." Armin Looks At Him "What?" He Asks Quietly. Pixis Walks Back Over With Three People and He Says, "Every Minute Counts Here. You're Going To Be Heroes… Young Soldiers." We Nod and We Begin To Think Of A Strategy.

Pixis and Eren Begin To Walk Off When Pixis Turns His Head and Asks, "Are You Coming, Redwolf?" I Walk Forward and I Say, "Yes Sir" and I Walk Next To Eren. Pixis Sighs and States, "We're Told That Long Before The Titans Took Over The Land, Human Beings Were Constantly Murdering Each Other Over Tribunal Disputes and Ideologies. Back Then, Someone Supposedly Said, If A Powerful Non-Human Enemy Appeared, Humanity Would Probably Unite and Stop Fighting Itself." He Turns To Us and Asks, "What Your Opinion?"

Eren Rubs The Back Of His Neck and Says, "I've Never Heard That Legend But I Think It's Pretty Rosy. Frankly, It's Dull." I Nod In Agreement and Pixis Chuckles and Says, "Your Personalities Are Just As Twisted As Mine." Eren Clenches His Fist and Growls, "Even Now, When That "Powerful Enemy" Has Driven Us Into A Corner…. I Think We're Far From United" Pixis Nods and I Say, "That May Be True But I Believe If We Don't Come Together Soon…. Even Continuing To Fight May Be Too Much For Us" Pixis Hums and Hums, "Indeed" Eren and I Stand On Either Side Of Pixis and He Yells, "Attention!" Eren and I Both Stand Firmly In A Salute and Pixis Continues, "I Will Now Explain Our Strategy To Recapture Trost District! The Goal Of This Operation Will Be To Plug The Hole In The Broken Gate!" I Look Down At Everyone and Pixis Continues, "We Have A Way To Seal The Hole, But First I Want To Introduce You To Eren Yeager And Danielle Redwolf Of The Training Corps!"

I Let A Smirk Slide Onto My Face and Pixis Continues, "We've Been Conducting Top Secret Experiments On Titan Transformation, And Eren Yeager Is Our First Success! He Is Able To Purify The Body Of A Titan And Control It At Will! He Will Turn Into A Tiat, Pick Up The Boulder Near The Gate, Carry It Over, And Use It To Block The Hole! Soldiers, Your Task Is To Protect Him From The Other Titans While He's Carrying The Rock!"

I Watch As Many People Begin Deserting and Pixis Yells, "UPON MY ORDER! ANYONE WHO LEAVES RIGHT NOW WILL GO UNPUNISHED!" He Looks At Me To Continue And I Nod And Yell, "IF YOU HAVE GIVEN INTO YOUR FRAR OF THE TITANS, YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO STAND AGAINST THEM AGAIN! ANYONE WHO HAS SUCCUMNED TO TERROR OF THE TITANS SHOULD LEAVE HERE AND ANYONE WHO WANTS THEIR PARENTS, SIBLINGS AND LOVED ONES TO FEEL THAT SAME TERROR FOR THEMSELVES SHOULD LEAVE AS WELL!"

Pixis Pats My Back As We Watch Everyone Return To The Groups and Pixis Takes Over and Yells, "Let's Talk About What Happened Four Years Ago! About The Operation To Reclaim Wall Maria! I Don't Think I Need To Remind You Of It. "Operation To Reclaim" Sounds Good Doesn't It? But It Was Really Just A Way For An Overburdened Government To Reduce The Number Of Unemployed They Had To Feed! What No One Dares To Say Is That We Have Been Able To Survive Within The Wall's Narrow Confines Because Your Brothers And Sisters In Arms Were Force To Go Outside It! That Sin Belongs To All Of Humanity, Including Me!"

I Let Out A Growl and I Am About To Say Something That Will Blow My Cover and Ruin The Operation To Reclaim The Founder Entirely When Pixis Continues, "The Residents Of Wall Maria Were A Minority, So Open War Never Broke Out! But What About Next Time?! If Wall Rose Is Breached, It Won't Be Nearly Enough To Sacrifice 20% Of The Population! Behind Our Final Barrier, Wall Sheena, We Could Only Afford To Feed Half Of The World's Surviving Human Beings! If Humanity Dies Out, It Won't Be Because The Titans Devoured Us! It Will Be Because We Annihilated Each Other! We Cannot Die Inside Yet Another Wall! Given The Choice Die Here!"

I Drop My Salute and I Say, "With All Due Respect Sir… Can I Go Now?" Pixis Nods and Says, "Yes. Go Ahead" I Nod and Say, "Thank You Sir" and I Jump Off The Wall and Using My ODM Gear, I Perform Some Skill Moves Before I Land On A Roof and I Begin Searching For Annie and The Others.

 **Time Skip**

I Land On The Wall After Killing Some Titans and I Ask, "Where's Jean?" Connie Points To A Group Of Buildings and Answers, "Down There Somewhere!" I See Him Run Out and Connie Yells, "Jean!" I Am About To Jump Down When Annie Grabs My Wrist.

I Send Her A Look and Connie Yells, "His Gear Is Busted!" Marco Walks Over and Asks, "What's Happening?" I Try To Shake Out Of Her Grip and I Say, "Annie… Let Me Go" Annie Shakes Her Head and Tightens Her Hold and Answers, "I Won't Let You Go If Your Going To Sacrifice Yourself For Him. I Know He's Your Friend But Everyone Loses Someone. That's Life" Marco Looks At Me and I Growl, "I'm Not Letting Him Die. All Of Us Go Down There! Now!" Marco Jumps Down and Connie and I Jump Down After.

I Run Ahead Of Connie As We Run Across A Building and Connie Growls, "Crap! Why You Gotta Go Be The Hero?!" I Hear Someone Land Behind Us and I Turn My Head and I See Annie. I Send Her A Smile and She Nods At Me. I See Jean Fly Over The Head Of A Titan Using ODM Gear But Then He Falls.

Connie Jumps Buildings and I See Jean In The Air Again and I See An Abnormal Jumping Towards Him. I Hiss and Say, "Annie!" She Nods and Answers, "On It!" We Run Towards The Abnormal and Annie Jumps On Its Lower Jaw As I Swing Around The Nape. The Titan Drops and We Start Heading Back Towards The Wall. I Land Sprawled On My Back and I Groan Slightly.

Jean Looks At Us and Asks, "You Idiots Got A Death Wish?!" Marco Looks At Him and Snaps, "Don't Even Start Jean" Connie Nods and Answers, "Yeah! You Scared The Hell Outta Me!" I Stand Up and I Say, "Don't Be So Ungrateful Jean. We All Put Out Lives On The Line For You. Hell, My Fucking Relationship Could Be Fucked Because I Wanted To Save Your Ass!"

I Sit Down So My Legs Are Dangling Over The Wall and Jean Answers, "Shit…. Danielle I'm Sorry" I Send Him A Look and I Snap, "Don't Worry About It" I Stand Up and I Say, "I'll See You Guys Later" and I Turn Back To Look At Annie Who Immediately Looks Away When She Catches My Gaze. I Sigh and I Jump Off The Wall and I Go To Find Reiner and Bertholdt.

Danielle's PoV

I Find Reiner and Bertholdt On A Roof and I Say, "Alright Lads?" Reiner Grunts and Bertholdt Says, "Plugging The Hole Like That? What A Reckless Plan…. Eren Might Get Eaten" I Cross My Arms and Chuckle, "If That Happens, They'll Stay Ignorant. If It Comes Down To It, I'll Just Have To Do Something With My Titan. I Would Give Anything To Be Hooked Up To Her Like A Puppet Again. To Feel The Power Blazing Through My Flesh"

Reiner Looks At Me and Says, "Trust Me Danielle, We All Want That" Bertholdt Crosses His Arms and Continues, "But… If The Plan Succeeds, They'll Manage To Close The Hole We Worked So Hard To Make." Reiner Scoffs and I Ask, "Who Cares?" Reiner Agrees and Points Out, "Exactly! We Finally Found The Key We've Spent The Last Five Years Searching For."

Bertholdt Is About To Reply When We Hear, "Hey… You Three…" I Gulp and Marco Continues, "What… In The World Are You Talking About?" He Looks At Me and Asks, "What Did You Mean By "My Titan", Danielle?" He Turns To Bertholdt When I Don't Answer, and He Asks, "What Hole Did You Work So Hard To Make, Bertholdt?" Reiner Walks Forward Slightly and Marco Backs Up. Reiner Stops "Marco… That Was A Joke"

Marco Looks At Us and Yells, "Have You Three Gone Nuts? I Mean, I Can See This Situation Would Make You Say Things You Wouldn't Normally Say, But…. But! Well…. You Know! Just Focus On The Mission Okay?! Even If You Can Only Take On A Single Titan, That's One Less For The Elite Squad To Deal With!" He Jumps Off The Roof and Continues, "Look! A Titan Is Closing In! Let's Go!"

I Stare At The Boys Retreating Form and I Hiss, "Damn It Marco… Why Did You Have To Be In The Wrong Place AT The Wrong Time?!" and Reiner Growls, "He Needs To Die. If He Figures Us Out, Then It Won't Just Be Us That'll Go Down. They Will Trace Us Back To Annie and She Will Go Down Too. Then They Will Trace Our Origins and Marley Will Go Down." Bertholdt Nods and Snaps, "He's A Threat. A Threat That Needs To Be Silenced" Reiner Nods and Uses His ODM Gear To Chase Marco and Bertholdt and I Follow Him.

Reiner Tackles Marco and They Fall Onto A Roof With A Thud. I Land Next To Bertholdt and Marco Whimpers, "Reiner… This Is All A Joke Right?" Reiner Glares At Him and Snaps, "No. Marco… You've Always Been Good At Picking Up On Things… So, I Can't Let You Go." Marco Is About To Yell When Reiner Clamps His Hand Around Marco's Mouth.

I Hear A Boot Meet The Tile On The Roof and I Snap My Head To The Side and My Eyes Soften When I See Annie. Reiner Released Marco's Mouth and He Says, "Annie! Save Me!" Annie Looks Between All Of Us and She Asks, "What Is Going On Here?" Marco Whimpers and Cries, "Reiner Is Acting Crazy! Save Me!"

Bertholdt Sighs and States, "He Heard Us Talking" Reiner Looks At Her and He Says, "We Can't Let Him Live. It Could Compromise Everything" Annie Groans and Growls, "Are You Kidding Me?! You Dumb Assholes!" I Am About To Say Something When Bertholdt Yells, "Guys! A Titan! It's Coming This Way!"

Reiner Hoists Marco Up and Growls, "Annie! Take Marco's Vertical Manoeuvring Gear Off Of Him!" Annie Shakes Her Head and Snaps, "Why Me? You Three Caused This Mess. Get Danielle Or Bertholdt To Do It For You!" Reiner Shakes His Head and Barks, "No, You Do It! You Still Haven't Given Me A Reason! You Risked Your Own Life To Save Connie's Didn't You?! Why Would You Put Yourself In That Kind Of Danger?!"

Marco Begins To Struggle and He Yells, "Danielle! Please! I Thought We Were Friends!" I Look At Him and I Say, "We Are Friends But You Were Just In The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time! I'm Really Sorry Marco" He Begins To Sob In Reiner's Arms and Reiner Continues, "Have You Started To Feel Compassion For This Evil Race?! Prove Me Wrong, Right Here! If You Say That You And Your Father, Who Is Waiting For You To Come Home, Are Any Different From This Defiled Race, Prove It To Me Now!" Bertholdt Looks Back At Us and Yells, "Guys! It's About To Get Here!" I Turn To Annie and I Cup Her Face In My Hands and I Say, "Look At Me, Annie." She Looks Into My Eyes and I Say, "If The Threat Isn't Eliminated Then Our Home Town Is Threatened. They Will Trace Our Origins If Marco Snitches. That Means These Devils Will Bide Their Time and Then Strike Us Where It Hurts. Our Weak Spots Are Our Parents. I Don't Want This To Happen As Much As You, Do But We Can't Let Him Go. You Understand That Right?"

Annie Nods and I Kiss Her Forehead and I Mumble, "It's Only A Matter Of Time Before Our Hands Get Stained With Blood. We Can't Turn Back Now" With A Newfound Drive For Blood, Annie Lunges Forward and Begins Ripping At The ODM Buckles. She Ignores Marco's Pleads and When They Finally Come Lose Reiner Says, "That's What Makes Us Warriors. Good Job Annie" Annie Throws Marco's ODM Gear Through A Window and I Say, "I'm Sorry Marco" and We All Jump To The Opposite Roof, Leaving Marco For The Titan.

I Let Silent Tears Run Down My Face and I Feel Annie's Fingers Lace With Mine. I Cry Harder and Bertholdt Wraps His Arms Around Us and Reiner Asks, "Hey… Why Is Marco Being Eaten?" I Reach Over and I Rub His Shoulder and I Say, "Don't Think About It. It Was For The Best Alright?"

My Trio Of Comrades Nod and I Say, "We Better Get Moving. They Have Probably Blocked Up The Hole By Now" Annie Pulls Away From Me and Growls, "All Our Hard Work Has Gone To Waste." I Chuckle and Say, "There's The Annie That I Know and Love" She Shoves Me and We All Begin Running Towards The Main Gate. When We Get To The Gate, We Begin Taking Out Titans To Protect Armin While He Tries To Get Eren To Respond. I Growl and Snap, "What Is Taking Him So Long?!" I Hear Eren's Titan Roar and I Turn Around To See Him Carrying The Boulder. After Eren Has Blocked Up The Wall and We Have Taken Out The Remaining Titans, I Land Next To Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt and We Are Sent To Identify Casualties.


	15. Chapter 15

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 15 – The Aftermath**

 _Flashback_

Jean's PoV

I Yawn As I Watch The Others Walk Off and Marco Rests His Hand On My Shoulder and I Mumble, "Ahhh…. I'm Worn Out" Marco Turns To Me and Replies, "Jean, I Think You Would Make A Better Leader Than Me" I Look At Him Surprised and I Reply, "Me? You've Gotta Be Kidding. I'm Not Brave In The Least. What Made You Think That?" He Chuckles and Answers, "Hmm…. Don't Get Mad When You Hear This But Jean…."

 **Present Time – After The Battle For Trost District**

I Look At A Body With Wide Eyes and I Mumble, "Hey…. Is That…. Marco?" A Woman Walks Up To Me and Asks, "Trainee, Do You Know His Name?" I Gulp and Say, "I Wasn't Gonna Look But I Can't Believe That Happened To Him. Marco…. What Happened?" I Turn Around and Ask, "Did Somebody…. Anybody…. See What Happened?" The Woman Grabs My Shoulders and Says, "What's His Name? If You Know It, Answer Me Right Now. Trainee, Do You Understand? Two Days Have Passed Since The Wall Was Plugged Up With The Rock. But We're Still Collecting Bodies. At This Rate, There's A Risk Of Contagious Disease. We Have To Prevent A Secondary Disaster" I Look Down At My Boots That Are Covered In Titan Puke and Blood.

She Sighs and Continues, "Right Now, There's No Time To Mourn Your Fallen Comrades, Got It?" I Nod and Answer, "104th Training Corps…. Leader Of 19th Squad…. Marco Bodt" She Nods and Replies, "Marco…. It's Good You Know His Name. Let's Continue Working"

Sasha's PoV

I Look At The Ball Of Human Bodies and I Ask, "What Is This?" The Soldier Next To Me Gags and He Groans, "Ugh…. Titan Puke... I Guess They Don't Have Intestinal Tracts So Once They've Had Their Fill, They Upchuck All The Bodies Like This" I Gulp, and I Whisper, "Oh God" The Soldier Walks Away and Snaps, "Shit…. We'll Never Be Able To Tell Who's Who Like This"

Danielle's PoV

"I'm Sorry…. I'm Sorry". I Turn Around When I Hear Annie's Voice and I Walk Over To Her and I Look Down At The Body and My Heart Sinks. My Breath Catches In My Throat and I Choke, "Mina…." I Wrap My Arms Around Annie and She Asks, "We're Alright Aren't We?" I Nod and Say "We're Fine" Annie Nods and I Kiss Her Forehead and She Asks, "We're Not Mentally Messed Up Are We? We Have Caused The Deaths Of So Many People In The Last Four Years…." I Look Down At My Girlfriend and I Say, "No. We're Not Mentally Messed Up. Yes, All Those People Didn't Deserve To Die. Mina, Marco, Thomas, Nac, Mylus Didn't Deserve To Die But We Had No Choice…."

Reiner Walks Over and He Grunts, "There's No Point In Apologizing. Let's Hurry Up and Get The Funeral Over With" I Rest A Hand On Her Shoulder and I Say, "Reiner's Right. C'mon Annie…. Your Stronger Than This, I Hate Seeing You Cry" Annie Looks Up At Me and I See Tears Brimming In The Corners Of Her Eyes.

She Gulps and Whimpers, "I…." I Pull Her Into A Hug and I Hold Her Close As She Lets Her Tears Go. If Feel Her Tears Wet My T-Shirt But I Shrug It Off As I Murmur, "I Know. My Hands Are Stained With Blood Too But We Will Get Through This…. Together" Annie Nods Into My T-Shirt and She Pulls Away and We Get Back To Work.

Jean's PoV

"After All The Training We Did… Endurance Runs…. Horseback Riding…. Unarmed Combat…. Lectures On Strategy…. Technical Skills…. Vertical Manoeuvring…. We Worked So Hard…. We Did So Much…. Was It All For Nothing?" I Mutter. I Look At The Charred Bones In My Hand and I Ask, "What Should I Do Now?" I Look Up At The Others and I Stand Up and I Walk Over To Them.

I Stop Next To Them and I Say "Hey You Guys? Have You Decided Which Branch Of The Military You're Gonna Apply To? I've Decided…. I…. I'm…. I'm Gonna Join The Survey Corps" Danielle Nods and Replies, "I'm Going Too. By Killing Titans, I Can Avenge The Many People That We Lost. Mina, Marco, Thomas, Nac, Mylus, Franz and Hannah" Annie Huddles Closer To Danielle, Who Pulls Her Tight Against Her Side and Annie Murmurs, "I…. I'm Joining The MPs. I Have To So I Can One Day Go Home To My Father" I Nod and I Turn To Reiner, Bertholdt, Sasha and Connie. Reiner Nods and Grunts, "I'm Joining The Survey Corps Too." Bertholdt Nods and Says, "Me Too" Sasha and Connie Both Nod and They Say, "We're Joining The Survey Corps." We All Nod and We Get Sent Back To The Barracks Where We All Mourn For Our Fallen Comrades.

 **Time Skip – Three Days Later**

Eren's PoV

"All Day, The Cannons Fixed On The Wall Never Stopped Firing. It Took Up Full Day To Mop Up The Remaining Titans Who'd Been Sealed Up Inside Trost District. Those Left After That Were Eliminated By The Survey Corps. Most Of The Titans Swarming Around The Wall Were Killed With High-Explosive Projectiles and The Last Two Titans Were Successfully Captured Alive and That's About All That's Happened In The Three Days You Were In A Coma" Commander Erwin Fills Me In On What I Have Missed For The Past Three Days and Then He Asks, "Eren…. Do You Have Any Questions?" I Look Around My Cell and I Nod.

"Where Am I?" I Ask, With A Hint Of Fear In My Voice. Commander Erwin Crosses His Arms As He Leans Back In His Chair and He Answers, "Let's Just Say You're In A Dungeon, As You Can See. You're Currently In The Custody Of The Military Police Brigade. We Were Finally Granted The Right To See You A Few Minutes Ago"

I Gulp and Yell, "What's Gonna Happen Now?! Also…. Where Are The Trainees I Was With?!" Erwin Smiles and Replies, "We're Talking To Them. Not Only Those Two, But Anyone Who Knows Anything About Your Past. What We're Going To Do From Here On Out Isn't Much Different From What We've Been Doing" He Holds Up A Familiar Key and I Gasp, "That Key…." Erwin Nods and Places, It Back Into His Pocket.

He Nods and Says, "Yes…. It's Yours. I'll Give It Back To You Later. The Basement Of The House Where You Were Born, Dr Yeager's House In Shiganshina District Holds The Secret Of The Titans. Am I Right?" I Nod and Reply, "Yes…. Or At Least That's What My Father Said" Captain Levi Scoffs and Grunts, "You Have Amnesia, and Your Father Is Missing. That's A Very Convenient Story"

Erwin Turns To The Shorter Man and Says, "Levi…. We've Already Reached The Conclusion That He Has No Reason To Lie. There's So Much We Still Don't Understand But What I Think We Should Do Right Now Is Ask About Your Intentions" I Look At Him Curiously and I Ask, "My Intentions?"

Erwin Nods and Replies, "To Investigate Your Old Home, We'd Need To Take Back Shiganshina District On Wall Maria But It Would Take Drastic Measures To Plug The Hole That Quickly. We'd Need Your Titan Strength. Our Fate Rides On A Titan It Seems. Perhaps The "Colossus Titan" and The "Armoured Titan" Are The Same Type As You…. Your Will Is The Key. The Key To Freeing The Human Race From This Despair" I Gulp and Mutter, "I…."

Levi Growls and Snaps, "Hey…. Answer The Man, Scum. What Is It That You Want To Do?" I Look At Him With A Smirk Etched Onto My Face and I Say, "I Just Want To Enter The Survey Corps and Kill Titans" Levi Nods and Pushes Himself Off The Wall and Says, "Huh…. Not Bad. Erwin, I'll Take Responsibility For Him. Send That Message To The Mucky-Mucks. It's Not Like I Trust Him and If He Betrays Me Or Goes Out Of Control, I'll Put Him Down Immediately. Upstairs Should Have No Problem With That Because Nobody But Me Is Suited For The Job." Erwin Nods and Replies, "Alright, I'll Accept You Into The Survey Corps" and They Walk Out, Leaving Me Alone In This Damp Dungeon.


	16. Chapter 16

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 16 – The Trial**

 **A Few Days After Chapter 15**

Eren's PoV

I Sit On The Bed In My Cell and I Look Up At One Of The Military Police Members and I Say, "Excuse Me…. I Need To Use The Bathroom" He Glares At Me and Growls. "You Just Went" I Look Between Them Both and I Plead, "Can I Have Some Water, Please" The Other One Glares At Me and Barks, "Hey. Remember Your Place…. You Monster" I Sigh and Look Down At My Feet.

I Look Up When I Head The Jingling Of Keys and I See Two People That I Have Never Seen Before. The Woman Smiles and Says, "Eren, I'm Sorry We Kept You Waiting. But It Looks Like You Can Finally Get Out Of Here" I Perk Up At This and I Smile. They Let Me Out and We Begin Walking Somewhere.

The Woman Walks Next To Me and Says, "I'm Hanji Zoe, A Squad Leader In The Survey Corps and He's…." The Man Starts Sniffing Me and I Stiffen Slightly and Hanji Continues, "He's Mike Zacharias, Also A Squad Leader. He Always Smells People When He First Meets Them... and Then Sneers. It Probably Doesn't Mean Anything. Believe Me, His Skill As A Squad Leader Outweighs His Quirks…. Oh! Sorry…. I Talk Too Much. This Is It Already, But Don't Worry! Actually, Maybe It's Better That I Don't Explain. Just Tell Them How You Feel. Maybe I Shouldn't Say This But All We Can Do Is Believe In You" I Look At The Doors and I Gulp.

I Get Taken Into A Court Room and My Eyes Widen In Fear. A Military Police Member Pushes His Gun Into My Back and Growls, "Keep Walking Slowly" I Get Led Into A Fenced Off Area and I Notice A Hole In The Ground. The Military Police Member Places His Hand On My Shoulder and Snaps, "Get Down There" I Kneel Down and They Shackle Me To A Pole and Then Walk Off.

I Look Around The Room and My Eyes Widen When I See Mikasa, Armin and Danielle.

I Look Up When I Hear A Chair Rattle and I See The Leader Of All Three Military Branches, Commander-In-Chief Darius Zackely. Darius Sits Down and Grunts, "Well…. Let's Begin" He Picks Up A Sheet Of Paper and Looks At Me.

"You Are Eren Yeager, Yes? As A Soldier, You've Pledged Your Life To Serve The Public, Correct?" He Asks In A Gruff Voice. I Nod "Yes Sir" I Answer With Confidence In My Voice. The Man Nods and He Continues, "Regular Law Cannot Apply In These Exceptional Circumstances Therefore, This Will Be A Military Tribunal. Ultimate Authority Has Been Entrusted To Me… Even Your Life. Now I Will Ask You Only Once. Do You Have Any Objections?"

I Shake My Head and Answer, "No Sir!" Darius Nods Again and Grunts, "I'm Glad That You Understand. Now, This Unprecedented Case Has Given Rise To Many Confliction, Passionate Arguments Behind These Walls. There Are Those Who Call You A Demon That Will Lead Us To Destruction and Others Consider You A Hero Who Will Bring Hope To The Human Race. As Expected, It Proved Impossible To Hide Your Existence From The General Public. When We Are Eventually Forced To Make An Official Announcement About You, It Will Inevitably Produce A New Threat In Addition To The Titans" His Eyes Roam Over The Paper and Then He Looks At Me.

He Shifts In His Seat and Continues, "As Expected, It Proved Impossible To Hide Your Existence From The General Public. That Decision Will Determine How You Are Dealt With. We're Here To Decide Which Branch Of The Military Will Be Responsible For Your Activities. The Military Police Brigade Or The Survey Corps. We'll Hear From The Military Police Brigade First"

I Turn My Head To Look At The Military Police and I Hear, "I Am Chief Nile Dawk Of The Military Police Brigade and We Believe That Eren's Body Should Be Thoroughly Examined After Which It Should Be Disposed Of Without Delay. Careful Consideration Of The Grave Damage That Validating His Existence Would Cause Led Us To This Conclusion. Those Who Hold The Reins Of Power In The Centre Regard Him As A Threat. Yet Despite The Current Situation, Those People, Including The Royal Family, Have Stuck To Their Policy Of Non-Interference In The Matters Outside The Wall, Just As They Did Five Years Ago."

He Looks At Me With A Glare and Continues, "However, The Masses See Eren As A Hero For His Part In The Counterattack. This Has Sparked A Backlash, Chiefly Among Merchants and The People Of Wall Rose. As A Result, We May Even See A Civil War Consume What Territory We Have Left. It's Undeniable That His Power Deserves Credit For Repelling This Latest Attack. However, In No Time, He's Become A Highly Politicized Figure. Therefore, After We Extract As Much Information As We Can From Him, We Will Turn Him Into A Martyr For The Human Race."

A Priest Of The Walls Glares At Me and Yells, "That Isn't Necessary! He Is A Pest That Circumvented The Devine Protection Of The Wall Through Trickery! He Should Be Executed Immediately!" Darius Sighs and Growls, "Minister Nick, Quiet Please. Now We Will Hear The Proposal From The Survey Corps." Commander Erwin Stands Up Straight and Says, "Sir. I'm Erwin Smith, The 13th Commander Of The Survey Corps. We Plan To Induct Eren Into The Corps As A Full-Fledged Member and Use His Power To Take Back Wall Maria. That Is All."

Darius Looks At Him Surprised and Asks, "Hm? That Is All You Have To Say?" Erwin Nods and Answers, "Yes Sir. With His Strength, We Can Recover Wall Maria. I Believe Our Priorities Are Clear" Darius Hums and Says, "I See. By The Way, What Base Do You Plan To Use To Launch Expeditions Outside The Wall Going Forward? Pixis? The Trost District Wall Is Now Completely Sealed, Is It Not?" Commander Pixis Nods and Grunts, "Yes…. That Gate Will Never Open Again"

Erwin Looks At Darius and Says, "We Wish To Set Out From Eastern Karanes District. We Need To Develop A New Route To Shiganshina District Completely From Scratch" Darius Is About To Reply When I Hear, "Hold On! Isn't It Time We Sealed Off All Gates Permanently? The Colossus Titan Has Only Been Able To Destroy The Gates In The Walls! If We Just Reinforced Those Areas, The Would Never Be Able To Attack Us Again! Do Those Dogs In The Merchants' Association Really Want Land That Badly?! All You People Do Is Blurt Out Unrealistic Ideals While Plunging Us Further Into Ruin! We Won't Let You Play At Being Heroes Any Longer!"

Captain Levi Growls and Snaps, "You're Full Of Talk, You Pig But Where's Your Guarantee That The Titans Will Wait Patiently While We Wall Up The Gates? When You Say "We," You're Talking About My Friends, Who Protect You While You Get Fat. You Pigs Take No Notice Of The People Who Can't Eat Because There Isn't Enough Land!" The Merchant Gulps and Stammers, "A-All I Said Was That We'd Be Safe If We Sealed Up The Gates….!"

Minister Nick Glares At The Man and Snarls, "That's Enough You Insolent Scoundrel! Wall Rose Was A Gift From God! Do You Mean To Say Human Beings Should Lay A Hand On It?! How Can You Fools Look Upon That Wall, That Divine Masterpiece Beyond Human Knowledge, and Still Not Comprehend It?!"

Danielle's PoV

I Rub My Eyes and I Slam My Hands On The Metal Bars of The Booth That I'm In and I Bark, "Shut The Fuck Up You Pathetic Weaselheaded Fucknuggets! A Gift From God? Is That Really All You Clueless Numpties Could Come Up With?! That Wall Was Built By Ymir Fritz Who Just Happens To Be My Grandmother! My Family's Sweat, Blood and Fucking Tears Went Into Those Damn Walls and You Think You Have The Right To Worship Them Like They Are My Ancestor Herself?! The Three Walls Are Named After Ymir Fritz' Daughters Maria, Rose and Sina. If My Family Knowledge Is Correct Then, Way Back In My Family Tree, They Are My Aunts! My Fucking Family Legacy and You Toupèd Fucktrumpets Fucking Bicker About It As If You Pestilent Insects Actually Matter To Them! If They Were Still Alive, I Can Guaran-Fucking-tee That They Wouldn't Waste A Breath On Either Of You, You Witless Fucking Idiots!"

Everyone Looks At Me and Captain Levi Looks At Me and Chuckles, "I Couldn't Have Said That Any Better Myself" I Let Out A Breath and Darius Asks, "Who Are You Girl?" I Salute and Say, "Danielle Redwolf, Sir! First Place Graduate Of The 104th Trainee Corps!" Darius Grunts and Asks, "Danielle Redwolf. Do You Speak In Defence Or Offence Of Eren Yeager?"

I Tighten My Salute Posture and I Reply, "Defence Sir. After Being In Training With Eren For 3 Years, I Know He Didn't Know About This Power Until The Attack On Trost District. If He Knew About It Then He Would Have Said Something Sooner. The Bloviating Flesh Bags In The MPB Have No Idea What They Are Talking About. Yes, Yeager and I Have Had Our Disagreements But There Isn't Anyone I Would Rather Follow Into Battle. Humanity Needs A Hero, More Than Before. Eren Is Our Best Bet In This Case. That Is All Sir"

Darius Nods and Turns To Eren and He Asks, "Let's Move On. Next…. Eren, I Have A Question For You. It Seems You Wish To Join The Survey Corps But Can You Continue As A Soldier and Use This Titan Power For The Benefit Of The Human Race?" Eren Nods Vigorously and He Replies, "Y-Yes, Sir. I Can!" Darius Raises A Brow and Scoffs, "Is That So?! This Is From The Report On The Recovery Mission. Right After Becoming A Titan…. You Swung Your Fist Three Times At Mikasa Ackerman."

Mikasa Looks At The Floor and Scoffs, "Tch" Darius Looks Around The Room and Asks, "Where Is Mikasa Ackerman?" Mikasa Raises Her Hand and Replies, "That's Me Sir" Darius Nods and Asks, "So, You're Mikasa? Is It True That Eren Attacked You?" Rico Looks At The Girls and Murmurs, "If You Don't Answer Honestly, It's Not Going To Help Eren." I Glare At Her and Growl, "Shut It, Garrison" Under My Breath and Mikasa Answers. "Yes… It's True"

I Hear A Merchant Gasp and Minister Nick Hisses, "What Is The Meaning Of This…." Mikasa Looks At Darius and Continues, "But Two Times Before That…. Eren Saved My Life In His Titan Form. The First Time, A Titan Was About To Eat Me. He Stood Against It and Protected Me. The Second Time, He Shielded Armin and I From An Explosive Shell. I Believe These Facts Should Be Considered As Well"

Nile Chuckles and Says, "I Wonder. Everything You Just Said Is In The Report But Wishful Thinking Has Severely Clouded Your Views Reducing Their Objective Value, In My Opinion. I Know Why You Are Taking Eren's Side. While Investigating Eren's Background, I Came Across A Record Of An Incident From Six Years Ago. Astonishingly, When These Two Were Nine Years Old They Stabbed Three Adult Robbers To Death. Their Actions Are Understandable. It Was Legitimate Self-Defence Yet It Raises Doubts As To Eren's Basic Humanity. Should We Entrust Him With The Lives, The Resources, and The Very Fate Of The Human Race?"

I Look At Him With A Growl and I Ask, "Do You Have Any Fucking Idea What Mikasa Went Through?" Nile Shakes His Head and Replies, "No But I'm Sure You Don't Either" I Glare At Him and I Bark, "Are You Fucking Sure About That? I Know Exactly What She Went Through Except Mine Was Way Worse! When I Was 5 Years Old, I Was Kidnapped By My Own Fucking Uncle! He Beat Me, Tortured Me, Even Went So Far As To Try and Rape Me. According To Him, I Was The Daughter Of A Whore Who Deserved It. I Managed To Break Out Of Those Chains and Leave The Room That Was Stained With My Blood."

Everyone Looks At Me and I Continue, "I Found My Uncle Exchanging Money With A Group Of Black Market Merchants As He Tried To Sell Me Off Without My Father's Knowledge. I Was Caught By Them After Trying To Escape Through A Window. While Taking Me To Their Hideout Where The Auction Was Going To Begin, I Was Molested By 7 Different Men."

I Clench My Fists and Bark, "They Wouldn't Go Further Than That Because That Would Spoil The Merchandise. Before Entering The Building, My Captors Were Taken Down By Seven Kids. My Best Friends Took It Upon Themselves To Save Me Because They Cared! Yeager Did The Exact Same Thing As They Did! He Rescued Ackerman Because He Cared! No Matter How Dark Our Pasts Are, We Are Still Human! No Matter How Much You Deny It, Yeager Has More Humanity Than Anyone Here Because He Saved Someone By Staining His Hands With Blood!"

Everyone Looks At Me With A Shocked Look On Their Faces and I Hear, "What Nile Said Is Right! He Must Be A Titan That Took The Form Of A Child To Infiltrate Out Society! But In The End, He Couldn't Hide His Violent Nature! Is This Any Time To Be Having A Leisurely Debate? He's Right In Front Of Us, Like A Powder Keg That Could Explode At Any Minute! Those Shackles Mean Nothing! Those Two Too! How Do We Know They Are Human?! Just In Case, We Should Dissect All Three Of Them!"

I Am About To Reply When Eren Yells, "NO! I…. I Mean…. You're Wrong! I May Be A Monster But Danielle and Mikasa Have Nothing To Do With It! They Aren't Involved and What's More…. Everyone's Just Saying Whatever Speculation Happens To Be Continent To Them! But Once You've Cut Yourselves Off From Reality, It's All Pointless!"

Nile Glares At Him and Growls, "What…. How Dare You?" Eren Looks Around The Room and Continues, "In The First Place…. You People Have Never Seen A Titan, So What Are You So Afraid Of? What Can We Do When The People Who Have Power Don't Fight?! If You're Afraid Of Fighting For Your Own Lives, Then Please, Help Me! You…. Cowards…. Just Shut Your Mouths And Invest Everything In Me!"

Nile Looks At The Soldier To His Right and Barks, "Stand Ready!" The Soldier Gets His Gun Ready and He Yells, "Sir!" Levi Walks Up To Eren and Starts Kicking Him. After A Few Minutes Of Eren's Yelps Of Pain Filling The Room, Mikasa Tries To Run Forward So Armin and I Grab Her Arms. Mikasa Growls and Armin Squeaks, "Mikasa! Wait!" I Agree With Armin and I Grunt, "Hold On Mikasa! If You Run Out There, Then Eren's Punishment Will Be Much Worse!"

Mikasa Stops Struggling and Levi Growls, "This Is Just My Opinion But I've Always Found Pain The Most Effective Punishment. The Lesson You Need To Learn Right Now Can't Be Taught With Words…... Only With Action and You're Kneeling, Which Makes You Easy To Kick" Levi Continues To Kick Him Until Nile Gasps, "Levi, Wait…." Levi Rolls His Eyes and Asks, "What Is It?" Nile Gulps and Replies, "It's Dangerous" I Scoff and I Look At The Man and I Growl, "What's Dangerous Is Your Fucking Acorn Sized Brain, You Fucking Spoon" Levi Slams His Foot On Eren's Face One More Time and Darius Barks, "Danielle Redwolf! Out!" I Nod, and I Answer, "Yes Sir" and I Walk Out Of The Court Room, Slamming The Doors Behind Me.


	17. Chapter 17

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 17 – Choosing Our Factions**

Danielle's PoV

I Walk Towards The Barracks In Trost So I Can Spend A Few Hours With Annie. When I Get There, I Push Open The Door and I See A Familiar Head Of Blonde Hair Snoring Happily While Drooling On Her Pillow. I Walk Over To The Bed Quietly and After Taking My Boots Off, I Climb On The Bed and I Rest My Back Against The Wall. Annie Nuzzles Into My Leg and Opens Her Eyes Slowly.

I Tuck A Strand Of Hair Behind Her Ear and I Say, "Well Good Morning" Annie's Eyes Meet Mine and She Asks, "Danielle?" I Smile and Murmur, "For Guessing Correctly, You Get A Kiss" I Lean Down To Press My Lips Against Hers When She Presses Her Hand Against My Face and Says, "Ah No. Morning Breath" I Move Her Hand and I Reply, "Don't Care. Kiss Me Shorty" Annie Rolls Her Eyes and Groans, "You Insufferable Bitch" I Smirk "Haha" I Say Sarcastically. Annie Leans On Her Elbow and Pulls Me Into A Kiss and We Both Pull Away When The Need For Air Becomes Apparent.

"Have You Missed Me?" I Ask With A Grin and Annie Replies, "No" With A Smirk On My Face. I Rest A Hand On My Heart and I Whimper, "Oh Annie, How You Wound Me" Annie Chuckles and I Am About To Reply When A Pillow Hits Me In The Face. I Grunt, and I Hear, "Keep It Down" I Chuckle, and I Answer, "Sorry Ymir" Ymir Goes Back To Sleep After I Throw Her Pillow Back At Her.

I Smile Down At My Girlfriend and I Say, "Well We Have A Few Hours To Hang Out Until We Choose Our Factions So Get Your Ass Up!" Annie Chuckles and Ymir Growls and She Asks, "Do I Have To Ask Again?!" I Chuckle and Answer, "Keep Your Panties On Ymir" Christa Looks At Us From Her Place On Ymir's Chest and She Mumbles, "She's Not Wearing Any" Ymir Gasps and Yelps, "Christa!" All Three Of Us Chuckle At Ymir's Flustered Expression and I Say, "Okay Then. I'll Wait For You Outside, Annie" I Peck My Girlfriends Lips and I Walk Outside.

After A Few Minutes, Annie Walks Out In Her Uniform. I Take Her Hand In Mine and I Kiss Her Knuckles As My Lips Twist Up In A Smirk and She Nudges Me and We Lace Our Hands Together and We Begin Walking Around Town. When We Are Away From Prying Ears I Ask, "Did You Kill The Two Test Subjects?" Annie Nods and Replies, "Yeah. Reiner Was On Lookout" I Nod and Say, "Good. Good. I'll Keep An Eye On Eren. For Now, You Stay Low and Just Amuse Yourself With Playing Soldier Until The Expedition In 29 Days"

Annie Nods and Answers, "Got It." I Look At Her and I Ask, "Whose Gear Did You Use? They'll Check All The Equipment" Annie Squeezes My Hand and Answers, "I Used Mine But I Have Marco's To Take The Place Of My Gear During The Inspection" I Nod and Ask, "Good. So How Have You Been?"

Annie Leans Into Me and Replies, "I've Been Good. How About You?" I Smile Down At Her and I Say, "I've Been Alright. I've Missed You Though" A Dust Of Pink Rises On Her Face and I Kiss Her Forehead With A Smile. After Walking Around Trost District For A While, We Eventually Part Ways.

 **Later That Day**

I Stand At The End Of The Line Of Trainee's and I Hear, "So, You Can Get Punished For Killing Titans, Huh?" I Look At The Two MPs In Front Of Us and One Of Them Answers, "Yeah, It Is Weird, But They Were Valuable Test Subjects and Now Their Looking For The Culprits Here. As If A Trainee Could Have Done It" I Almost Smirk But I Manage To Keep My Facial Features Under Control As The Other One Points Out, "Yeah. We're All Still Worn Out From The Mop-Up After The Battle"

Connie Grunts and Says, "You Can't Plame Someone For Hating Titans" Armin Nods and States, "Yeah But This Practically Help The Titans. Whoever Did It May Have Satisfied Their Thirst For Revenge, But It's A Blow To Humanity"

Connie Looks Down and Answers, "I'm An Idiot So I Kinda Get Where They're Coming From." Armin Looks At Him and Connie Continues, "You Lose Your Ability To Think. Before I Saw My First Titan, I Really Wanted To Join The Survey Corps But Now, I Never Want To See Another Titan As Long As I Live. Even Though We Have To Choose A Branch Today. Damn It, Even Jean Said He's Gonna Join The Survey Corps"

Armin Raises A Brow and Asks, "What?! Jean Said That?" Connie Nods and He Looks At Annie and Asks, "Hey Annie, What Do You Think? He Says He's Gonna Join The Corps" Annie Sighs and Answers, "I Don't Think Anything. My Minds Already Made Up." Connie Nods and Asks, "I See. You're Going With The MP Brigade, Right?"

Annie Grunts In Response and Armin Asks, "What About You Danielle?" I Look At Him and I Say, "I'm Joining The Corps. My Mind Has Been Made Up Since I Saw Mina's Mangled Corps After The Battle In Trost…." Armin Nods and Connie Asks, "Hey Annie? You Think I Should Go For The MPs, Too?" Annie Sighs and Says, "Look, If Somebody Told You To Die, Would You?" Connie Looks At Her and Exclaims, "What?! Of Course Not!" Annie Moves Her Bangs From Her Face and Answers, "Then You Should Do What You Want To Do." She Turns To Armin and Asks, "How About You Armin?" Armin Looks At Her and Replies, "Me? Well, If I Could Understand Why I Had To Die. I Think There Are Times People Have To Die, Even If I Don't Like It"

Annie Nods and Answers, "I See. So, You've Decided…." Armin Nods and Answers, "Yeah" Annie Nods and Says, "You're A Weakling But You've Got Spirit" Armin Looks At Annie and Stammers, "T-Thanks" Connie Looks At Armin and Asks, "Seriously? Armin? Danielle? You Too?" I Nod and Say, "Sometimes You Have To Do What You Have To Do. No Matter What The Cost"

Armin Looks At Annie With A Grin and Says, "Annie…. You're Actually Pretty Nice." Annie Looks At Him and Asks, "What?" Armin Looks Away and Continues, "I Mean, It Seems Like You Don't Want Us To Join The Survey Corps and I Bet You Have A Reason For Joining The Military Police" Annie Keeps Her Stoic Face and She Answers, "No. I Just Want To Save Myself". A Military Police Officer Stops In Front Of Me After A Few Minutes and Asks, "Name?" I Look Him In The Eyes and I Say, "Danielle Redwolf, 19th Squad" He Nods and Asks, "When Was The Shaft Last Switched Out?" I Stand Up Straighter and I Say, "After The Mopping Up Operation Six Days Ago, Sir" His Companion Nods and Answers, "There's A Record Of It" He Nods and Walks To The Next Row.

 **At The Choosing Ceremony**

I Stand Next To Annie and I Hear, "Jean" I Look Over At Sasha and She Continues, "Jean, What Made You Suddenly Decide To Join The Survey Corps? I Mean, I Thought You Were Scared." Jean Looks At Her and Answers, "What? Of Course, I Don't Like It. The Corps, I Mean" Connie Looks Up At Him and Asks, "Hm? Then Why Are You…" Jean Cuts Him Off and Continues, "I May've Chosen The Survey Corps, But Not 'Cause I'm No Afraid Of The Titans and I'm Not Going To Say Something Like, "Skilled Soldiers Have A Duty To Join The Corps". Listen, Seriously, I'm Not In A Hurry To Die Like Eren. Don't Lump Me In With Him and…." He Gets Cut Off By Someone Yelling, "Trainees, Fall In! Face The Stage!"

I Walk Forward and As I Do I Hear Jean Continue, "Nobody Convinced Me To Put My Life On The Line. This Isn't The Kind Of Job You Can Do Without Really Choosing It Yourself." I Chuckle and I Weave Through The Crowd Of People Until I Find Mikasa, Reiner and Bertholdt. Annie and I Stand In Between The Two Older Boys and Commander Erwin Walks Onto The Stage.

He Looks Us All Over and He Says, "I Am Survey Corps Commander Erwin Smith. The King Has Given Me All Authority Over Survey Corps Activity. Today, You Choose Which Division To Join. The Reason I'm Up Here Is To Invite You To Become Part Of The Survey Corps. But I Should Warn You. In The Recent Titan Attack, Everyone Here Experienced What The Average Excursion Outside Is Like. I'm Sure Nothing Else In Your Lives Came Close To It. Though You're Trainees, You Experienced Sacrifice.

As A Result, I'm Sure You All Came To Know Your Own Limits, and The Terror Of The Titans. Never The Less, While It's True We Suffered Heavy Losses In This Attack, The Human Race Has Advanced Towards Victory Like Never Before. By Now Everyone Is Aware The Existence Of Eren Yeager. Through His Actions and All Of Yours, The Titan Incursion Was Halted and We Have Obtained A Path To Understanding The True Nature Of The Titans. I'm Not At Liberty To Tell You Much Regarding Eren But Believe Me, He's Proven Himself As An Ally Who's Willing To Lay His Life On The Line and We Also Know That In The Basement Of His Old House On Shiganshina District There Are Answers About The Titans That Even He Doesn't Have. If We Can Just Get To That Basement, I Believe We'll Find Clues That May Free Us From A Century Of Domination By The Titans" Everyone Begins Murmuring and I Murmur, "So They Want To Get To Shiganshina?" Reiner Nods and Grunts, "It Seems Like It" Everyone Stops Murmuring and We Look Back At The Stage.

Erwin Takes A Deep Breath and Continues, "and Yet, If We Are To Perform A Full Investigation Of That Basement Room In Shiganshina, We Must First Take Back Wall Maria. In Other Words, Our Aim Is The Same But Now That We Can No Longer Use The Gate In Trost District, We Have No Choice But To Take The Long Way Around, From Eastern Karanes District. The Path That Took One Of Our Battalions Four Years To Clear Is Completely Lost. During Those Four Years, Over 90% Of The Survey Corps Soldiers Died. That's 90% In Four Years. Even In The Best Case, Sending Another Battalion To Wall Maria Would Mean Five Times The Casualties and 20 Years Of Work. Those Figures Aren't Realistic. The Survey Corps Is Always Looking For Talented People. Since Many Are Killed Every Time We Go Outside, We Suffer From Chronic Shortage Of Personnel. I Won't Hide It.

Those Who Join The Survey Corps Will Participate In An Expedition Beyond The Wall One Month From Now. A Supply Route Needs To Be Put In Place As Soon As Possible. I Believe The Morality Rate For New Recruits Going On Their First Journey Outside Is About 50% But Those Who Get Through It Go On To Become Superior Soldiers With A High Survival Rate."

I Take A Sharp Intake Of Breath and Erwin Continues, "Now You Know The Dismal State Of Affairs. Those Of You Who Are Willing To Put Your Lives On The Line, Remain Here. Let Me Reiterate… The Majority Of The People Who Stay Here and Enter The Survey Corps Will Likely Die. Ask Yourselves If You Really Have It In You To Sacrifice Your Life For Humanity. That's All. Those Of You Who Wish To Join The Other Divisions Are Dismissed"

Annie Squeezes My Hand and I Press A Kiss To Her Forehead and I Say, "I'll See You Soon, Alright?" Annie Nods and Answers, "Yeah. I Love You" I Peck Her Lips and I Answer, "I Love You Too" and She Walks Off.

Erwin Looks Us Over and Asks, "If You Were Told To Die, Could You Do It?" There Is Total Silence When Someone Yells, "I Don't Want To Die!" Erwin Chuckles and Says, "I See. Everyone…. You Look Good."

Erwin Stands In A Salute and He Yells, "Very Well! I Welcome The Newest Members Of The Survey Corps! This Is A Real Salute! Devote Your Hearts To The Cause!" Everyone Salutes, and We Yell, "Yes, Sir!" I Look Around Me and Armin Looks At Me and Gasps, "Everyone…" Jean Sighs and Growls, "Shit…. This Is The Worst. Damn It, The Survey Corps Of All Things" I Look At Sasha and She Breathes, "I Hate This. I'm Scared…. I Wanna Go Back To The Village"

I Send Her A Comforting Smile When Our Eyes Meet and I Hear Connie Whimper, "I Just Don't Care Anymore". I Hear Whimpering Come From Behind Me and I Turn My Head and I See Christa and Ymir. Ymir Looks At Her and Says, "If You're Gonna Cry Here, You Might As Well Quit" I Look Past Them and At The Blonde That I Won't See For A While and I Turn Away Before I Change My Mind and Run After Her.

Erwin Nods and He Says, "I See 22 Members In The 104th Survey Corps Who Have Given The Salute. You Have Withstood Your Fear Well… You're Brave Soldiers. You Have My Heartfelt Respect." and We All Get Dismissed.


	18. Chapter 18

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 18 – Lost Girls Part 1**

 **The Day Before The 57** **th** **Expedition**

Danielle's PoV

I Walk Into The Stohess HQ and I Walk Up To One Of The Officers and I Ask, "I'm Here To See Annie Leonhardt" He Looks Up From His Papers and He Looks Back Down and Answers, "Upstairs. Door At The End Of The Corridor" I Nod and I Jog Up The Stairs and I Reach The Door.

Just As I Am About To Knock, Annie Opens The Door In Her Military Police Gear. I Smile and Annie Looks At Me and Says, "Well This Is A Pleasant Surprise. What Are You Doing Here?" I Cross My Arms and I Say, "We Have A Day Off Today, So I Came To See You" Annie Nods and She Asks, "Do You Want To Help Me Then?"

I Nod and Say, "If I Get To Spend 24 Hours With You Then Yeah Before I Meet My End Tomorrow" Annie Grabs My Collar and Growls, "If You Do Then I Will Bring You Back From The Dead and Kill You Myself" I Nod and Say, "Yes Ma'am" Annie Kisses My Cheek and Begins Walking Off. I Smile and Say, "That Was Hot" Annie Scoffs and Says, "Shut Up" and We Begin Walking Towards The Mess Hall.

 **In The Mess Hall**

I Sit Next To Annie and I Look Up When I Hear, "Hey Marlo, Aren't You Off Today? Why Are You In Uniform" The Guy Named Marlo Looks Up and States, "That's Because You and Our Superior Officers Keep Adding Onto My Workload" Marlo Turns Back To His Food and The Other Guy Chuckles and Points Out, "You Know You're The Only One Using Your Free Time For That, Eh?" Annie Rolls Her Eyes and She Passes Me The Remainder Of Her Bread and I Munch On It Happily. We Both Stand Up, Pull On Our Jackets and Walk Out Of The HQ.

 **A Few Minutes Later**

We Sit In The Back Of A Carriage and I Ask, "So Who Are You Looking For?" Annie Looks At The Paper and Answers, "Carly Stratmann. Born In Year 830, 20 Years Old. She's The Only Daughter Of Eliot .G. Stratmann Who Is President Of The Marleen Company" I Nod and Say, "Should Be Easy Enough" We Stop and The Driver Looks Back and Says, "We've Arrived" We Both Nod and We Climb Out Of The Carriage.

I Look At The Large House and I Hear, "Miss Annie Leonhardt, Is It? I Am The Servant Of This House, Please Come With Me" and We Follow Him Into The House. We Stop At Two Large Doors and He Opens One Slightly and Says, "Mr Stratmann. Miss Annie Leonhardt From The Stohess District Branch Of The Military Police Brigade Is Here For A Visit, Along With Her Partner Danielle Redwolf From The Karanes Branch Of The Survey Corps" We Wait For A Moment Before A Gruff Voice Answers, "Let Them In" and With That We Walk Into The Large Room.

We Sit Down and The Man Asks, "So?" Annie Looks At Him and Says, "I Am Here Today To Find Out More About The Situation Behind Your Daughters Disappearance" He Looks At Annie and Asks, "Are You Saying That My Daughter Is Still Missing?" Annie Nods and Answers, "I'm Very Sorry About That" He Takes A Drag Of His Cigarette and I Have To Restrain Myself From Scrunching My Nose Up In Disgust.

Mr Stratmann Moves It Away From His Mouth and He Asks, You Should Have Some Clues By Now, Right?" Annie Shakes Her Head and Replies, "No" He Looks At Her and Asks, "Not One?" She Shakes Her Head Again and Answers, "Not One" He Narrows His Eyes At My Girlfriend and My Fingers Twitch As My Body Urges Me To Wrap My Arm Around Her In Defence.

Stratmann Leans Back In His Chair and He Says, "I Must Have Overworked Myself. I Do Not Understand What You Have Said At All. It's Been 10 Days Since I Sent In A Search Request. Whenever I Inquire About The Progress, You People Always Answer You're Looking Into It But Now The Person On The Case Informed Me That Not A Single Clue Has Been Found. Are You Saying That You Are That Incompetent" My Body Shakes With Anger and Stratmann Notices This and He Chuckles.

I Look Away With A Huff and Annie Rests Her Free Hand On My Knee and Strokes Her Thumb Over It As She Answers, "I Am If You Believe Me To Be So." I Am About To Disagree When Annie Digs Her Fingers Into My Knee.

I Wince and Stratmann Shakes His Head and Replies, "No. You Are Not. You're Lying. You Don't Think So. I Have The Ability To See Through Lies. It Is A Tool Of My Trade, After All. There Was No Search Conducted Over These Ten Days. You Are Not Incompetent. You and Your Colleagues Are Simply Negligent/ Nothing Was Done At All. Am I Right?"

Annie Hums and Answers, "You Are Absolutely Right" Stratmann Shakes His Head With A Chuckle and Points Out, "No. You're Still Lying. If You're A Truly Negligent Person, You Would Never Have Come Here. Yet, You Showed Up Suddenly After Ten Days To Ask Me About My Daughter. That's What I'm Baffled About"

Annie Shifts In Her Seat Under The Man's Scrutinizing Gaze and She Answers, "You're Absolutely Right, Mr Stratmann. The Search Request Was Neglected For 10 Days. During Which, The Job Went Through Two Others Before Coming To Me" Stratmann Nods and Asks, "So You're The Only Person Searching For My Daughter? With The Help Of Your Friend Here?" Annie Nods and Answers, "Yes" Stratmann Hums and Asks, "How Many Years Have You Two Been Working For Your Factions?" I Look At Him and We Both Answer, "A Month" We Sit In Awkward Silence Until Stratmann Begins Chuckling.

He Looks At Us and Exclaims, "So This Is The Payback I Get For The Hefty Taxes! My Request Was Neglected For 10 Days and When They Finally Get To It They Send Me A One Month Old Cub and Better Yet! They Bring In A Survey Corps Cub Too" He Laughs Harder and He Says, "I Have Truly Overworked Myself, Huh? I Am At A Loss For Words." Annie Sends A Look At The Older Male and She States, "With The Amount Of Financial Power You Hold, You Could Send Us Out Right Away and Hire A Private Investigator For The Search"

Stratmann Studies Us For A Second Before He Answers, "I Trust My Own Eyes. They Are A Good Judge Of Character. Private Investigators Use Their Brains To Extort For Cash. They Are A Bunch Of Swindlers. However, While You Two May Be Rookies, My Eyes Tell Me That You Are Both Worthy Of My Trust. Please Find My Daughter" Annie and I Nod and Annie Answers, "That Is Our Job After All"

Annie Sits Up Straight and She Pulls Out A Pencil and Her Notepad and Stratmann Asks, "Well, You're Both Here To Learn About The Situation Behind My Daughters Disappearance?" I Nod and Annie Answers, "Yes" Stratmann Nods and While His Butler Lights Another Cigarette For Him He Answers, "I Don't Have The Exact Information. Two Days Before I Sent In The Search Request, My Daughter Failed To Turn Up For Dinner. My Daughter and I Had An Agreement, To Take Our Dinner Together No Matter How Busy We Were. As Long As That Was Met, We Would Not Interfere With One Another "

Annie Nods and Asks, "When Did You See Her Last?" Stratmann Hums and Answers, "At Dinner The Day Before." Annie Writes That Down and Asks, "What Did You Two Talk About?" Stratmann Shrugs and Answers, "I Don't Remember. I Was Nothing Of Importance" Annie's Brows Furrow and She Asks, "What Did She Do That Day?" Stratmann Shrugs Again and Answers, "No Idea" I Raise A Brow and Annie Asks, "Do You Know Of Any Of Her Acquaintances?"

Stratmann Shrugs Again and Answers, "No Idea" Annie Hums In Response and She Asks, "What Are The Places She Frequents?" Stratmann Takes A Swig From His Glass and Answers, "No Idea" Annie Glares Down At Her Paper and Asks, "What Are Her Usual Activities?" Stratmann Looks At Us and Answers, "No Idea" Annie Looks At Him and Asks, "So You Have Absolutely No Idea What Your Daughter Normally Does, Am I Right?" Stratmann Takes Another Swig Of His Drink and He Answers, "My Daughter Returned To This Town Three Years Ago After She Graduated From Heinrich University. I Have No Idea What She Did After That."

Annie Writes That Down and Asks, "What Did She Major In?" Stratmann Looks Up and Answers, "Chemistry" Stratmann Places His Glass Down and Says, "As I Just Said, As Long As I See Her Once A Day During Dinner, She Is Free To Do Whatever She Likes. Even To Take A Walk After Dinner" Annie Nods and Asks, "You Are The President Of The Marleen Company. You Have Your Enemies and You Are Rich As Well. Is It Likely For Her To Get Caught Up In Some Trouble?"

Stratmann Takes A Drag Of His Cigarette and He Answers, "Like A Kidnapping, You Say? That Is Not An Issue. I Did Not Receive Any Ransom Request" Annie Looks At Me and Then Back At Stratmann When I Shrug My Shoulders and She Asks, "Do You Get Along With Your Daughter?" Stratmann's Gaze Falls To The Pictures On The Wall and He States, "Are You Saying She Left Out Of Spite? I Can't Say For Sure But, We Have Been Living Together Since Her Mother's Death, Helping Each Other Out So I'm Certain We Get Along Well. But I Suppose My Daughter Might Not Share The Same Sentiment"

I Jump When A Bang At The Door Sounds and Annie Rests Her Hand On My Leg As She Soothes My Nerves With A Single Touch. Stratmann Sits Up and He Grunts, "More Visitors? Get The Door" His Butler Nods and Answers, "Yes Sir" Before He Leaves.

I See Someone Hop The Fence and It Seems To Get Annie's Attention Too. Stratmann Slouches Back In His Seat and Continues, "Seriously, I Have Absolutely No Idea What's On My Daughters Mind." Annie Looks At Our Entwined Hands When I Lace Her Fingers With Mine and She Answers, "There Probably Isn't A Father Out There Who Knows What's On Their Daughter's Mind"

I Squeeze Her Hand and She Looks Back At Stratmann and Asks, "You Said You and Your Daughter Helped Each Other Out. Could You Elaborate On That?" Stratmann Sighs and Answers, "I Already Told You. We Do Not Interfere With One Another. That Is The Best Way We Help Each Other" A Knock At The Door Sounds and I Hear, "Mr Stratmann." Stratmann Stands Up and He Walks Over To The Door, Opens It and Asks, "What Is It?" He Gets Given A Note Which He Opens It and Reads It Before Shoving It In His Pocket.

He Looks At Us and Asks, "By The Way, Why Did You Two Join Your Factions?" Annie Looks At Him and Answers, "Well, To Obtain A Stable Life In The Inner Lands" He Turns To Me and I Answer, "It's The Combat That Draws Me To The Battlefield. I've Always Had A Thirst For It" He Nods and Asks, "I See. I Suppose So. Do You Have Anymore Questions?" I Shake My Head and Annie Answers, "No. We Will Drop By Again If I Find Anything" and We Stand Up and Leave The House.

I Press A Kiss To Annie's Temple When We Leave, and She Asks, "You Were Acting Weird In There…. What's Bothering You?" I Look Away and I Answer, "Alcohol and The Smell Of Cigarette Smoke Has Always Set Off My Nerves. When I Was A Child, It Would Be That Smell That Told Me That I Was About To Get A Beating From Uncle Lucan" Annie Squeezes My Hand and She Asks, "Where Should We Go Next?" I Hum and Answer, "The Documentation Room In The Stohess HQ. There Has Got To Be Something In There" Annie Nods and We Begin Walking Back To HQ.

 **At The Documentation Room.**

I Lean On A Wall As Annie Talks To The Person Keeping All The Records. She Walks Back Over and I Sit On The Window Ledge and She Makes Herself Comfortable On My Lap As She Reads. I Look Over Her Shoulder and She Murmurs, "Stratmann, Eliot Gutenberg. Born In The Year 804, 46 Years Old. Seven Years Ago, After The Sudden Death Of The Previous President, Hans Georg, He Took Over and Became President Of The Marleen Company" I Hum In Curiosity and Annie Looks Up and Asks, "Please Give Me Information On The Marleen Company"

The Officer Nods and Answers, "Sure Thing" and She Brings Over Another Book and Annie Begins Reading, "The Marleen Company. Mainly Trades With Merchants In Wall Maria For Supplies and Drops Them Off In Wall Sina, Earning Huge Profits From The Balance. However, In Year 845, When Wall Maria Was Breached, Mankind Abandoned Maria."

Annie Takes A Breath and I Cut Her Off and Continue, "The Marleen Company Lost Their Suppliers and Downsized. The Only Business Left Is The Marleen Carriage, A Transport Service Ferrying Customers To Their Destinations On Horse Carriages" Annie Hums and States, "The Marleen Company Is In Decline. That Is An Undisputed Fact."

I Nod and Say, "Even So, You Saw How Extravagant, Stratmann's Way Of Live Is. I Don't Even Think The Transport Service Can Support That." Annie Hums and Continues, "There Are Yet More Things That Baffle Me. Carly Stratmann. Chemistry Major From Heinrich University. She Could Easily Land A Job With Her Qualifications. Yet She Went Unemployed For These Three Years."

I Nod and Continue, "and E.G. Stratmann, Not Only Was He Unconcerned With His Daughters Unemployment But He Even Said That He Had No Idea What She Usually Does." Annie Strokes Her Jaw In Thought and She Answers, "On Top Of That, They Also Set Up An Agreement Not To Interfere With One Another. What A Strange Pair."

Annie Takes A Deep Breath For A Moment Before She Continues, "No. If Their Relationship Is Considered Strange Then So Is The Relationships Between Us and Our Fathers. Our Fathers Trained Us In Combat From Morning To Night. Kicking Even When Our Feet Had Swelled Up. We Weren't Allowed To Rest. Fulfil The Mission. Fulfilling The Mission Is Your Purpose In Life. We Could Not Go Against Them. Absolute Obedience. Such Was The Relationships Between Us and Our Fathers." I Nuzzle My Head Into Her Shoulder and I Mumble, "You Sure Made Your Father Eat His Words"

Annie Chuckles and Answers, "If I Remember Correctly, You Pulled Me Off Him" I Nod and Say, "Yep. That I Did. You Cried Into My Chest For Hours Afterwards" Annie Nods and We Sit In Silence For A Few Minutes Before I Perk Up and I Say, "Wait A Minute… If Carly Is Unemployed, That Means She's Living Off Her Father's Money. Despite That, He Spoke Of Her Like She's A Completely Self-Reliant Person. So That Was The Strange Part, Huh?"

Annie Nods and Quotes, "We Take Our Dinner Together, No Matter How Busy We Are. As Long As That Was Met, We Will Not Interfere With One Another. I Don't Mind If She Takes A Walk After Dinner." Annie Stands Up and Breathes, "A Walk." I Send Her A Grin and I Hear, "See You. I Have To Get Back To Wor-" Annie Cuts Her Off By Ordering, "The Interrogating Records. Which Shelf Are The Interrogation Records At?"

 **Time Skip**

I Curl My Arm Around Annie Protectively As We Walk Down One Of The Back Streets Of Stohess and I Hear, "Hehehehe. Finally Caught Ya. Ya Look Tasty" I Turn Around and See Two Guys Fighting Over Rats and The Second One Exclaims, "Ya Caught A Rat! Lemme Have The Feet!" The First One Shakes His Head and Growls, "Oh Hell No! They're Mine!" The Second One Grabs The First One By His Collar and He Roars, "Damn Ya! I Shared My Wine With Ya, Didn't I!" The First One Glares At The Second One and Yells, "I Had Forgotten About That Long Ago!"

We Get Away From Them and Annie Breathes, "Bingo. Carly Was Interrogated. A Military Police Officer Found Her Sitting Before A Bar Late At Night In A Drunken State. They Sent Her Back Home. That Bar Is Pit Redoz. We've Finally Made Some Progress" We Stop In Front Of The Bar and I Give Her Hip A Squeeze and We Walk Inside and I Am Well Aware Of The Hostile Eyes Watching Us As We Walk Up To The Bar.


	19. Chapter 19

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 19 – Lost Girls Part 2**

Danielle's PoV

We Stop At The Bar and Annie Places Carly's Missing Poster On The Bar and Asks, "I Believe This Girl Has Been Here. Do You Know Her" The Barman Shakes His Head and Answers, "No I Don't" I Cross My Arms and Annie Shows The Poster To The Guy Sat At The Bar and Asks, "How About You? Do You Know Her?" He Shakes His Head and Answers, "No Way Man." He Places Some Money On The Bar and Says, "Master, For The Bill" The Barman Nods and Answers, "Thanks" and The Guy Walks Out.

The Barman Looks At Us With A Sigh and Asks, "If Your Both Done Here, Could You Please Leave?" Annie Places Two Coins On The Counter and The Barman Looks At Them and Says, "Even If You Bring That Out, I Still Don't Have The Information You Want" Annie Shrugs and Answers, "I'm Just Thirsty. Can I Have A Limeade and A Beer?" The Barman Gives Them To Us and I Hear, "Haha! Ya In A Pub, Little Girl. Get Some Alcohol Like Your Friend, Will Ya?"

I Turn Around While Downing My Drink and Slam The Tankard On The Bar. The Tallest Guy At The Table Laughs and Asks, "Or Ya Can't 'Coz Ya Still A Little Kid Drinkin' Daddy's Milk?" The Other Two At His Table Laugh and The Guy Mocks, "Daddy, I'm Scared. Help Me!" They Start Laughing Harder and We Walk Over To Them.

Annie Places The Poster On The Table and Asks, "Do You Guys Know This Girl? Her Name Is Carly Stratmann" The Guys Go Silent and Annie Continues, "Looks Like You Know Her" The Tallest Guy Shakes His Head Answers, "No Way In Hell. Get The Hell Home and Suck On Daddy's Milk, MP Girl. If Ya Don't, Ya Can Stay and Suck On Mine Instead-" I Let Out A Growl When He Reaches For Annie's Ass and She Grabs His Wrist and Twists It So It Snaps.

He Howls In Pain and Annie Twists It Again and She Dislocates His Shoulder and He Yells, "Shit! Damn You!" He Swings His Fist At Her and Yells, "Get Ya Hands Off!" Annie Grabs His Other Arm and Throws Him Over Her Head and Into A Wall.

The Other Guys Stand Up and One Of Them Yells, "Asshole!" The Other One Yells, "Now Ya Done It" I Jump Over The Table and I Swing My Leg Around and Annie Does The Same and We Send Both Guys Crashing Into Each Other and I Kick Them Back With So Much Force That They Fly Straight Into The Bar.

I Smirk, and I Hear, "Don't Get Too Cocky" I Spin Around and I See The Tallest Guy Pull The Leg Off A Chair. I Pull My Blade Out and The Blade Clashes With The Leg. After Fighting For A Few Minutes, Annie Brings Her Leg Up and Slams Her Foot Down On The Guys Face. She Grabs His Good Arm and Slams Him On The Table With It Behind His Back.

He Looks Back At My Girlfriend and He Yells, "Let Go! Ya Shit! I'm Gonna Kill Ya! Ya Hear Me?! I'm Gonna-!" He Gets Cut Off By Annie Dislocating His Shoulder. He Howls In Pain and Yells, "Asshole! Damn Ya! My Shoulders! Ya Dislocated Them!" I Notice The Other Guys Trying To Sneak Way When Annie Pulls A Pouch Out From His Jeans.

Annie Pours The Contents Onto The Table and I Chuckle and Say, "Codaime. Illegal Drugs. I'm Not An MP But If I'm Correct, This Can Get You A Three-Year Jail Term Or Even Five. Isn't That Right, Love?" Annie Nods and Answers, "Sounds About Right" I Look At The Other Guys With A Smirk and I Say, "Go On and Leave." I Motion To The Guy In Annie's Hold and I Continue, "I Think He's A Trustworthy Guy, Right?" I Cross My Arms and I Continue, "Because This Guy Will Never Rat You Out", With A Sarcastic Tone To My Voice.

We Sit Down At The Table and Annie Says, "We Are Searching For Carly Stratmann Under Her Father's Request. If You Tell Us All You Know Then We'll Turn A Blind Eye To Your Deeds" I Lean Back In My Chair and I Throw The Pouch At Them and I Say, "That Means, All Of You Get To Go Home. Alright?" I Rest My Arm Around The Back Of Annie's Chair and She Asks, "Alright? You Hear Me?" The Guy Swipes Up The Pouch and Growls, "Damn It! Fine! Assholes!" Annie Leans Back In Her Chair and Asks, "So?"

The Shortest Of The Trio Nods and Answers, "That's Right. Carly Has Been Here." The Middle Guy Nods and Answers, "She Treated Us To Beer and Danced For Us Every Night" The Shortest Nods and Continues, "We Were Surprised By Her Generosity. She Was Cute and Popular. She Was Kind Even To Thugs Like Us. Everyone Liked Her" I Take A Swig Of My Drink and He Continues, "But 'Bout Ten Days Ago, She Stopped Comin'. No One's Seen Her Since and No One Knew Why She Stopped Comin'." I Hum and Ask, "Was She Acting Any Different The Last Time You Saw Her?" The Middle Guy Nods and Pipes Up, "She Got Angry"

Annie Raises A Brow and Asks, "Angry?" The Shortest Nods and Answers. "Yeah. It Was The First Time We Saw Her Angry. Everyone Was Surprised" I Sit Forward and I Ask, "So, What Was The Cause?" The Tallest Bites Down On Some Codaime and Then Swallows Some Of His Drink.

The Shortest Glares At Him and Growls, "It Was His Fault. Carly Saw Him Drinking Codaime. That Got Her Angry" I Smirk, and He Continues, "It Was Weird Though. She Never Got That Angry When We Did Other Dru-" He Gets Cut Off By The Tallest Snapping, "Hey!" The Shortest Looks At Him and Says, "Oh" Annie Takes A Gulp Of Her Drink and Says, "Go On" He Gulps and Continues, "Before That Day, Whenever She Saw Us Doing Drugs, She'd Just Chide Us Lightly and Tell Us To Stop Doin 'Em"

I Cross My Arms and I Ask, "But When It Comes To Codaime, She Gets Really Angry. Do You Know Why?" He Shakes His Head and Answers, " No Idea. After That, The Room Fell Silent. Kinda Like A Funeral. She Wouldn't Talk To Us When We Spoke With Her and She Hasn't Shown Up Since Then."

Annie Hums and Asks, "Why Did You Lie and Tell Us That You Didn't Know Her?" The Shortest Takes A Gulp Of His Drink and Answers, "I Just Forgot" The Middle Guy Nods and Answers, "We Get Real Absentminded With The MP, Ya Know?" I Raise A Brow and Say, "But I'm Not An MP. You Could Have Told Me Instead" The Tallest Looks At Me and Pipes Up, "Yeah But You Came In Here With Her. We Knew You Two Were Working Together By How You Acted" I Hum and The Shortest Continues, "and We Thought Ya Were Gonna Arrest Her" The Tallest Glares At Him and Growls, "Hey!" They Begin Mumbling To Themselves and Annie Asks, "Why So?" The Shortest Looks Around Nervously and Stammers, "That Is…. Well… I Wonder Why, Huh? It Slipped My Mind"

Annie Narrows Her Eyes In Annoyance and She Growls, "You Do Want To Go Home, Don't You?" I Can Tell The Stench Of Alcohol Is Getting To Her and I Rest My Hand On Her Knee and She Calms Down A Little Bit.

The Taller Guy Groans and Answers, "We Thought Carly Was Involved In Some Illegal Stuff." I Raise A Brow and Ask, "Illegal Stuff?" He Nods and Continues, "Everybody Knows Her Dad's In The Slump But Carly Had Tons Of Cash. We Knew That Didn't Come From Her Dad Or From A Proper Job. That's Why We Thought The Cash Was Dirty" I Hum, and He Continues, "and There Was A Shady Guy Who Cam Lookin' For Carly" The Shortest Nods and Murmurs, "Oh That Guy" The Taller Guy Takes A Swig Of His Drink and Continues, "We Pretended Not To Know Her, Of Course"

Annie Takes Out Her Notepad and Pencil and I Ask, "What Sort Of Guy Was It?" The Tallest Looks At Her and Answers, "He Wore A Felt Hat and A Suit. He Had An Artificial Eye and His Pupil Was Red. You'll Know When Ya See 'Im" Annie Nods and Asks, "When Was That?" The Guy Hums and Answers, "'Bout Five Days Ago" Annie Writes That Down and Asks, "So What About That Illegal Stuff?" The Tallest Shakes His Head and Answers, "Nope. No Idea"

Annie Sighs and Answers, "Alright. I'll Report That All Of You Sold Illegal Drugs To Children. How Long Would That Bring Your Sentence To, Huh?" The Taller Guy Slams His Fist On The Table and Yells, "Don't Screw With Me! I Honestly Know Nothin'!" I Rest A Hand On My Blade and He Gulps. Annie Rolls Her Eyes and Asks, "I Thought You Had Forgotten It Again? Like The Guy With The Artificial Eye."

He Shakes His Head and Exclaims, "No! I Really Know Nothin'!" We Both Stand Up and Annie Says, "Then You Can Recall It On Your Way To Jail" He Is About To Reply When I Hear, "Please Don't Be So Hard On Them" We Turn Around and The Barman Continues, "I Believe They Do Not Have The Answer." Annie Crosses Her Arms and Asks, "Do You Recall Some Things As Well?" He Places His Book Down and Answers, "I Had Forgotten Nothing. I Just Want To Read My Book In Peace. Besides, I Have No Idea What Carly Is Involved In Either But I Think Her Boyfriend Might Know Something. She Could Even Be With Him Right Now."

The Guys At The Table Exclaim, "Boyfriend?!" and Annie Asks, "What's His Name and Address?" The Barman Looks At Her and Asks, "Wayne Eisner. He Stays At An Apartment At South Aachen Street. I'm Not Sure About His Block Number" Annie Nods and Asks, "Did You Tell That Guy About Her Boyfriend?"

The Barman Shakes His Head and Answers, "No. I Was Not Here That Day. Some Other Guy Was On Duty Then" Annie Stares At The Guys At The Table and The Tallest Gulps and Answers, "Oh! I Know Nothing About Wayne Either! I Didn't Mean To Keep It From Ya!" Annie Pops His Shoulders Back Into Place and Places Money On The Table and Answers, "Thanks For The Drinks"

We Walk Towards The Door and Annie Turns Around and Asks, "How Did You Find Out?" The Barman Hums and Asks, "About What?" Annie Rests Her Hand On The Small Of My Back and Asks, "About Carly and Wayne?" The Barman Sighs and Answers, "If You're In This Job For A While Then You End Up Learning Many Things and That Includes Things You Do Not Wish To Know" We Both Nod and Walk Out Of The Bar and Towards The Main Square In Stohess.

We Sit Down On A Bench and I Ask, "Are You Alright?" Annie Nods and Answers, "Never Better" I Kiss The Side Of Her Head and I Say, "I'll Be Back In A Second. I'll Go and Get Us Some Food" Annie Nods and I Walk Off.

After Collecting Some Lunch, I Walk Back Towards Annie and I Sit Down and I Pass Her A Sandwich. She Raises A Brow and I Say, "I Know You Like The Back Of My Hand. I Know What Your Favourite Sandwich Is." Annie Bites Into It With A Grin and Chews Slowly.

I Bite Into Mine and I Hear A Meow. I Look Down and I See A Grey Cat Sat At Our Feet. Annie Raises A Brow and She Places Some Leftover Food On The Floor and The Cat Eats It. After It Finishes, It Looks Up and Meows. Annie Cracks A Smile and Asks, "You Ate Them All Up?" The Cat Lies On Its Back and Licks Its Paws and Annie Reaches Down To Pet It. It Rolls Out The Way and Annie Pets The Floor.

I Chuckle and Annie Spends The Next Few Minutes Trying To Stroke The Cat. The Cat Stands Up and It Jumps Onto My Lap and Climbs Onto My Shoulder and Nuzzles My Neck. I Grin and Annie Huffs Unhappily.

I Pick The Cat Up and I Say, "You Wanna Stroke Him That Badly?" Annie Pets Its Head and The Cat Licks Her Wrist. I Place Him Down and I Say, "Go On Buddy" The Cat Meows and Walks Off. I Smile At My Girlfriend Who Looks Away With A Scowl On Her Face.

I Wrap My Arm Around Her and I Say, "Hey, How About I Buy You A Cat When We Get Home? How Does That Sound?" Annie Hums and Answers, "I'd Like That" I Rest My Forehead Against The Side Of Her Head and I Kiss The Tip Of Her Ear and Annie Mumbles, "What On Earth Are We Doing Now? 'I Refuse To Be One Of Those Morons Who Enjoy Playing Soldier In This Hectic World' Those Were My Heartfelt Words. If So, Why Have I Chosen To Play Soldier Now? Who Knows? To Stop Myself From Thinking About Tomorrow's Depressing Mission. I Don't Understand." I Rest My Hand On Her Shoulder and I Say, "We Have Understood Nothing At All. Our Lives Are Riddled With Incomprehensible Things. We've Been Training In Combat Since Forever, Not Understanding Why We Had To Or Why We Were Sent Here, and We Are Carrying Out Our Mission Just Like That. Which Resulted In…. Marco…. Mina"

I Stop Before My Emotions Get The Better Of Me and Annie Rests Her Hand On My Shoulder and She Looks AT Her Free Hand and Continues, "and Tomorrow, We Will Stain Our Hands With Even More Blood" I Hear A Meow and I See The Cat From Before, Rubbing Itself Against Annie's Leg.

Annie Chuckles and Mumbles, "I Must Be Crazy. Looks Like Tomorrow's Mission Is Making Me A Little Nervous" I Kiss Her Head and I Ask, "Should We Go Then?" Annie Nods and We Hail A Carriage.

Annie Looks At The Driver and Asks, "Can You Take Us To South Aachen Please?" The Driver Raises A Brow and Replies, "South Aachen? Don't Be Silly! That Place's Shady. No Horse Carriages Will Bring You There" Annie Sighs and Answers, "I'll Pay Double If You Can Bring Us To The Entrance. If Not, We'll Just Find Another Ride."

The Driver Growls and Answers, "Fine. Just The Entrance, Alright" Annie Nods and I Climb Into The Carriage and She Asks, "By The Way, Does The Marleen Carriage Run Around This Area?" She Climbs In Next To Me and The Driver Asks, "Marleen? Haven't Seen Them Around Lately. Why? If You Like Them So Much, I Can Let You Down Now." Annie Shakes Her Head and Answers, "No. Please Move" The Driver Nods and We Begin Moving.

I Rub My Eyes and Annie Asks, "Are You Alright?" I Nod and Say, "Yeah. I'm Alright. I'm Worried About Tomorrow" Annie Raises A Brow and I Continue, "I'm Worried Because…. What If Something Bad Happens? What If Something Happens To You and I'm Not There To Protect You? If I Were To Lose You Then…. I Don't Know What I'd Do" Annie Turns Me To Look At Her and Caresses My Cheek With Her Thumb and Answers, "Enough With The What Ifs. We'll Both Be Fine" I Nod and She Kisses My Cheek and The Carriage Stops.

The Driver Sighs and Says, "Alright, We're Here. Please Hurry Up and Get Off" We Both Climb Off and Annie Says, "I'll Pay Double For The Return Trip. Can You Wait For Us?" The Driver Looks At Annie and Asks, "Are You Stupid?! This Isn't Funny You Know! This Place Is Unsafe. But If You Triple That, I Might Think About It" Annie Nods and Answers, "I Can Do That" She Passes Him Half The Money and We Begin Walking Off.

The Driver Growls and Yells, "Hey! Hey! This Isn't Enough At All!" Annie Smirks Back At Him and Answers, "I Can't Have You Running Away With The Money, Can I? I'll Pay The Balance When I'm Back" I Rest My Arm Around Her Waist and I Hear, "An Hour! If You Are Not Back In An Hour Then I'll Be Gone!" I Chuckle Quietly and Annie Rests Her Hand On The One On Her Hip and Says, "Your Doing It Again" I Raise A Brow and Ask, "Doing What?" Annie Looks Up At Me and Answers, "Being Protective. You Have Been Doing It All Day" I Nuzzle My Nose Into Her Hair and I Murmur, "Because I Love You and I Want You To Be Safe" Annie Chuckles and Asks, "Safe? Says The Person Walking Around Stohess In Full ODM Gear" I Smile, and I Say, "One Can Never Be Too Careful. I Used To Carry Around A Blade When I Was A Kid Remember?" Annie Shoves Me and Answers, "Yeah. That Same Blade Gave You That Scar On Your Face"

I Pout, and I Say, "You Told Me That You Loved My Scars" Annie Sends Me A Wicked Grin and Answers, "I Do. They Each Have A Story To Tell and They Make You Look Hot" I Blush and Whine, "Annie, Stop!" She Turns To Me and Pulls Me Down So I'm Eye Level With Her. She Presses A Kiss To My Lips and Grumbles, "Your Too Damn Tall" Against My Lips, "Maybe Your Just Too Short" I Tease and Annie Punches Me In The Gut and She Pulls Away and Begins Walking Again.

I Catch Up and I Feel The Eyes Of A Group Of Men Following Us. I Stand Next To Annie and She Murmurs, "Just Great. More Fucking Perverts and Rapists. Can We Not Get A Break?" I Rest My Hands On My Blades and I Murmur, "With A Group This Large, Maybe Someone Knows" Annie Sighs and Says, "We're Looking For A Guy Named Wayne Eisner"

The Guys Begin To Chuckle and One Of Them Chuckles, "Oh Look. It's the MP and The Survey Corps. How Rare and Girls At That" Another Smirks At Us and Asks, "Did You Two Get Lost, Not Knowin' Where Ya Are?" I Growl and Another Guy Pipes Up, "Don't Kill 'Em, 'Kay? 'Coz That'd Kill The Fun" I Sigh and Annie Looks At Me and Asks, "Ready?" I Nod and Say, "Ready" I Pull Out My Blades and The Guys All Go Wide Eyed. I Smirk and We Begin Fighting Them.

After The Fight, I Stand On One Of Their Chests and I Rest My Blade Against His Throat and I Ask, "What Block Does Wayne Eisner Live In?" The Guy Whimpers and Answers, "Block 225. It's The Brown-Brick Three-Story Building. Wayne Stays In The Middle Room On The Third Floor." I Nod and I Get My Foot Off Him and I Sheathe My Blades and I Follow Annie Down The Alley Way.

We Get To The Building and Annie Knocks On The Door and Asks, "Mr Wayne? Are You Home?" When We Get No Response, Annie Reaches For The Doorknob and To Our Surprise, The Door Opens. Annie Raises A Brow and I Pull Out A Blade and I Follow Her Into The House.

I Groan At The Stench and I See Annie's Nose Scrunch Up In Displeasure and I Groan, "It Smells Like My Uncles House." We Walk Into The Main Room and My Nose Picks Up Another Scent. The Scent Of A Decaying Corpse.

I Shake My Head To Clear It and The Scent Comes Back Stronger. I Hold My Head and I Groan Unhappily and Annie Asks, "What Is It?" I Look At Her and I Answer, "There Is Either A Decaying Corpse In Here Or There Was One. This Room Reeks On The Scent Of Decaying Flesh" Annie Swallows Unhappily and Says, "Okay. Let's Look Around" I Nod and I Lift My T-Shirt To Cover My Nose and We Search Around For Ten Minutes.

I Open The Drawer Under The Bed Slightly and I Pick Up A Box and I Say, "Hey Annie" She Looks At Me and I Nod Towards The Box and She Walks Over and Opens It. I Raise A Brow and She Picks A Pouch Up and Opens It. She Tips It So The Contents Spills Onto Her Hand and She Gasps, "Codaime?!" I Hum, and I Say, "It Seems Like Wayne Is A Codaime Dealer and Carly Has Been Helping Him. That Must Be The Illegal Stuff She's Involved In" Annie Hums and Answers, "That Might Be The Case But Why Would She Get Angry When She Saw Those Drugs? and Why Was The Guy With The Artificial Eye Looking For Her?" I Shrug and A Chill Runs Up My Back. I Spin Around and Annie Does The Same and She Asks, "Did You Feel That?" I Nod and Say, "Yeah…." Annie Reaches Down To Open Up The Drawer and She Jumps Back In Pure Horror and She Crashes Into The Table and Sends Everything Flying.

It All Smashes and I Hold My Nose as The Smell Hits Me Like A Brick and Annie Gasps, "I Think We've Found Wayne Eisner" I Swallow, and I Am About To Reply When I Hear, "Bastard! Didn't I Just Tell Ya To Shut The Hell Up?! Shut The Hell Up!" I Gulp and The Neighbour Continues, "Ya Think I'm Stupid?! I'll Make Ya Shut Up For Life! Right Now, Just Ya Wait!" I Gulp, and I Hiss, "Annie! Did You Lock The Door?!" Annie Shakes Her Head and Answers, "No….I Didn't Think I'd Need To." The Door Clicks and Annie Launches Forward and Locks It.


	20. Chapter 20

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 20 – Lost Girls Part 3**

Danielle's PoV

I Let Out A Sigh Of Relief and I Hear, "Hey! Why Didya Lock The Door?! Open Up Right Now! Come Out and Face Me! Didya Hear Me?!" I Walk Over and I Rest My Weight On The Door and I Hear A Slam From Next Door and I Hear The Neighbour Growl, "Damn! Ya Dead If I Ever See Ya Gain! Asshole!"

Annie Rests Her Forehead On My Shoulder and Sighs. I Rest My Head Against The Door and I Breathe, "That Was Close" Annie Nods and We Move Away From The Door and I Haul The Body Out Of The Drawer. Annie Pulls His Wallet Out Of His Pocket and Her Nose Crunches Up In Disgust. She Pulls Out A Slip Of Paper and Reads, "Commercial License For Horse Carriage. Wayne Eisner" I Sigh and Say, "So It Is Really Him?"

Annie Nods and Answers, "Yeah. I Suppose He Was Killed Then, Considering The Neighbours Reaction. But Now Though, What's Next? If We Leave The Body Alone, It Will Soon Rot and Maggots Will Start Coming Out and This Time His Neighbour Won't Remain Silent. The Bar Has Seen Our Faces, They Know Who We Are So If The Body Is Found, They'll Trace It Back To Us. They Would Detain Both Of Us and The Questioning Would Go On Forever. Reporting To My Superiors Would Also End Similarly"

I Rub My Face and She Continues, "Do We Stop and Rest For Tomorrows Mission? No, If We Fail Tomorrow, We Will Have To Come Back To Our Factions and We Would, No Doubt Be Held Responsible. At Worst, We'll Lose Our Jobs In Our Factions" Annie Slumps To The Floor and I Sit Next To Her and I Say, "I Guess Our Only Option Is To Find Carly…." Annie Nods and We Stand Up and Walk Out, Locking The Door Behind Us.

We Walk Down To The Carriage and Annie Looks At The Driver and Asks, "Please Take Us To Stratmann House." She Opens The Door and The Driver Looks At Us. My Eyes Widen and I Am About To Grab Annie When She Gets Grabbed From Inside The Carriage.

I Growl and I Pull Out My Blades and I Hear, "I Wouldn't Do That If I Were You. I Don't Want To Hurt Either Of You So Please, Don't Do Anything Stupid" I Put My Blades Away and I Climb Into The Carriage and I Let The Guy Tie My Hands Up. I Sit Next To Annie and The Guy In The Red Shirt Searches Her. He Pulls Out Her Ring and Exclaims, "Look Here Waldo! She Has Two Rings! They Look Expensive, Don't They?" Waldo Sighs and Grunts, "Just Keep An Eye On Her Lug." Lug Sighs and Answers, "Fine! Ya So Naggy!"

Annie Sighs and Asks, "Where Is The Coachman?" Waldo Reads Through Annie's Notepad and Answers, "He Lent Us The Coach Happily After We Gave Him Some Coins" Lug Lifts Up His Gun and Asks, "Are There Anymore Valuables On Ya? Give 'Em Here Right Now!" I Glare At Him and Bark, "Bite Me Asshole!" Lug Reaches Over and Pulls At The String Around My Neck.

He Rips It Off and Whistles When He Sees The Ring On The End. I Sigh and Say, "I Would Be Very Appreciative If You Could Give That Back" Lug Shakes His Head and Says, "No Way!" I Growl and Snap, "That Ring Was From My Girlfriend Now Fucking Give It Back!" Waldo Looks At Me and Asks, "What Happened To Her?" I Glare At Him and Growl, "She's Sat Next To Me, You Twat" He Looks Between Annie and I and Annie Looks At Lug and Points Out, "You Were At The Bar Just Now. At Pit Redoz, Drinking At The Counter"

Lug Laughs and Answers, "I Didn't Know That" Annie Smirks and Replies, "Yes. I Know That Stupid Face Very Well." He Growls and Grabs Annie By Her Hair and Barks, "Know Ya Place, Girl" I Snarl In Anger and Waldo Sighs. "Stop It Lug. I Told You To Behave Yourself" Lug Lets Annie Go and Waldo Looks At Her and Says, "Well, It Seems That You're Quite Zealous In Your Work" Annie Shrugs and Answers, "Thanks. By The Way, Where Are We Heading Right Now?" Waldo Removes His Hat and Answers, "The Industrial Area. They Have A Huge Tank Full Of Waste Liquid There. Many Things Have Sunk In It Over The Many Years"

Lug Nods and Answers, "Whatever Goes In, It Melts and Turns Mushy" I Look At Him and I Ask, "Does That Include Your Brain Too?" He Growls and Yells, "Screw You!" I Gag and Say, "No Thanks. The Day I Like Dick Is The Day I Die" Annie Looks At Waldo and States, "It Looks Like We Have Angered You" Waldo Shakes His Head and Answers, "We Are Not Angry. You Two Simply Got In Our Way"

Annie Raises A Brow and Asks, "Because We Are Searching For Carly? Other MPs Will Continue With The Search Even If I'm Gone" Waldo Lifts A Cigarette To His Lips and Answers, "Do Not Lie/ I Have Spoken To Stratmann. You're Working Alone, Aren't You? Save For The Help From Your Little Survey Corps Pet"

I Glare At Him and Annie Tenses and Answers, "That Was When I Met Stratmann. Right Now, I'm Reporting My Every Move To My Superiors. If They Do Not Hear From Me At The Scheduled Time, The MPs Will Act. Not To Mention If My Girlfriend Goes Missing, A Few Hours Before Her First Expedition Is To Take Place Then The Survey Corps Will Act Too. I Don't Think You Want To Be On The Wrong End Of Captain Levi"

Waldo Shrugs and Asks, "You Stayed For Quite A While. You Should Have Found Wayne's Body, Right? Despite That, You Did Not Head Straight Back To The Military Police Branch. What Is Stopping You From Reporting His Death?" Lug Pulls Out A Bottle and Says, "Ya Should Not Lie" Waldo Looks At Him and Grunts, "Lug. No Drinking. We Are At Work Now" Lug Puts The Bottle Away and Hisses, "Damn" Waldo Takes A Drag Of His Cigarette and He Says, "I'll Just Say This For My Honour. We Did Not Kill Wayne" I Roll My Eyes and I Ask, "Then, Who Killed Him?" Waldo Shrugs Again and Answers, "Wayne Is Quite The Risk-Taker. Anyone Could Have Done That To Him. It Was Inevitable Given His Position"

We Get Close To The Industrial Area and Annie Asks, "So, Have You Found Carly?" Waldo Takes Another Drag Of His Cigarette and Answers, "There's No Need For You To Know" I Smirk and Say, "So You Found Her?" Waldo Doesn't Answer and Annie Asks, "Why Were You Looking For Her?" Waldo Looks At Us and Asks, "You Do Not Need To Know" Annie Raises A Brow and Annie Asks, "What Is Your Relationship With Stratmann? What Is Your Job?" Lug Glares At Her and Asks, "Hey! Can Ya Shut The Hell Up?!" Annie Ignores Him and Continues, "Does It Have To Do With Coda-" She Gets Cut Off By Waldo Snapping, "I Said There Is No Need For You To Know Anything"

A Defensive Growl Spills From My Throat and Annie Sighs and Answers, "Alright. I Have A Request Before We Swim In The Waste Liquid Tank. The Three Rings Taken My This Refined Gentleman, One Was Gift From My Father When I Left My Hometown and The Other Two Were Our Anniversary Presents To Each Other. If We Had Those, We Can At Least Sink In Peace" Lug Grins and Answers, "He Would Never Agree." Waldo Glares At Him and Says, "Quiet. Lug. Hand Them Over"

Lug Shakes His Head and Yells, "No Way Waldo!" Waldo Looks At Him and Snaps, "Do It!" Lug Grumbles But Complies. He Makes A Move To Hand Them Over But Waldo Grunts, "No. Hand Them To Me" I Gulp and Bark, "You Bastard!-" Before I Can Continue, Lug Shoves His Gun Against My Neck and With A Smirk, I Snarl, "I Dare You. Pull The Fucking Trigger. You Better Hope That Bullet Kills Me Before I Rip Your Balls Off and Shove Them Down Your Throat For Laying Your Grimy Fucking Fingers On My Girlfriend." Lug Laughs and He Rests The Gun Against My Leg and Pulls The Trigger.

I Don't Flinch and I Headbutt Him and He Flinches But Regains His Posture and Hits Me With The Butt Of The Gun Several Times Before Waldo Snaps, "Lug! Sit Down!" Lug Does As He Says and Waldo Triggers The Blade On Annie's Ring.

Lug Perks Up and He Asks, "What's That?! A Blade?!" Waldo Chuckles and Asks, "Were You Planning To Knock Us Out With That?" Annie Is Too Busy Resting Her Sleeve On My Leg To Respond and Waldo Continues, "No. I Doubt It. I Know You're Not That Foolish. Did You Coat It With Poison?" I Spit Blood Onto The Carriage Floor and Annie Asks, "Why Don't You Try It Out?"

He Grabs Annie's Wrist and He Answers, "I Shall Gladly Oblige" Annie Smirks and Answers, "Tell Me Where Carly Is Before You Do. Because If You Are Dead, You Can't Tell Me Anything Right?" Lug Laughs and Answers, "The Girl's Gone Crazy, Waldo!" Waldo Pokes Her Hand With The Blade and Asks, "Do I Look Foolish To You?" I Laugh and Ask, "I Dunno? You Tell Me, Asshole!" I Look At Annie and I Yell, "Now!" Annie Slams Her Hands Forward and The Blade Cuts Her Hand and I Shove My Thumb Into The Bullet Wound On My Leg and Annie Growls, "Foolish Idiots. We Have A Few Tricks Of Our Own" With A Burst Of Lightning We Generate One Of The Arms Of Our Titans.

A Smirk Plasters My Face and I Look At Annie and She Smirks At Me and We Pull Our Arms Out Of Our Titans Grip and The Rip Of Burning Flesh Is Music To My Ears. I Walk Towards The Front Of My Titans Arm and I See My Promise Ring In Between Its Fingers.

I Pick It Up and I Quickly Place The String Around My Neck and I Tie It Up At The Back and I Follow Annie Over To The Injured Waldo. Waldo Looks At Us and He Asks, "What Did You Do? That Looks Just Like A Titan, Doesn't It?" Seriously…. Because Of You Two, Everything Has Gone To The Ashes" Waldo Grunts and I Hear Two Gunshots and I Turn To Annie and I Shield My Girlfriend From The Bullets. One Hits Me, Directly Where Annie's Heart Should Be On My Front and The Other Hits Me In The Heart.

I Gulp and We Both Collapse To The Floor. I Breath In My Girlfriends Scent and I Move Slightly So I Get Shot A Second Time In The Side Of The Chest. I Cry Silently Into The Back Of Annie's Jacket and I Hear, "What The Hell Was That? A Trick Bomb?" Lug Kicks Annie In The Gut and Me In The Back and He Says, "Oh, I'm Gonna Take This Fun Ring Back and These Two."

He Rips The String From My Neck Again and I Hear, "Lug, I Broke My Leg, Lend Me…." Lug Laughs and Answers, "I See Then. I Shall Take Over The Job. Rest Well, My Refined Gentleman" Waldo Looks At Him and Asks, "Lug Did You Kill Wayne?" Lug Chuckles and Answers, "Who Knows" As He Cocks The Gun. Waldo Sighs and Mutters, "Seriously. Why Did I Even Take In Someone As Unrefined As You?" and With That Lug Pulls The Trigger and Walks Off, Killing A Witness As He Goes.

I Slowly Rise To My Feet When I Feel Annie Shift and She Stands Up and Growls, "Where Is Carly?" Waldo Looks Up and Gasps, "Aren't You… She's At My Office On Van Gelder Street. No.197, Second Story" I Glare At Him and I Ask, "Who Are You People?"

Stratmann Coughs, Splattering Blood On My Boots and He Continues, "We're Merely Odd Jobbers. Few Days Before, Stratmann Came To Us With A Request. He Wanted Us To Look For His Daughter. Our Search For Carly Soon Brought Us To Wayne. He Knew Both Her Secret and Her Whereabouts and He Had A Deal For Us. If We Assisted Him With A Job, He Would Tell Us What He Knew"

Annie Grunts and Asks, "A Job?" Waldo Nods and Answers, "To Blackmail Stratmann With Carly's Secret, and Obtain The Ransom As Well. That Was The Gist Of It. S-So We Took Up His Offer, Kidnapped His Daughter and Blackmailed Stratmann" He Coughs and Continues, "I-In Two Days, We Were Supposed To Give The Girl For The Ransom" I Nod and Waldo Asks, "and You Two. Who Are You?" I Smirk, and I Ask, "What Was That Thing? You Said It. We're Titans. The Very Titans Responsible For The Thousands Of People Dying During The Fall Of Wall Maria"

Annie Smirks Down At The Man and He Laughs, "Y-You Two Have No Sense Of Humour. I Was So Close, Just A Little More and I Could Leave This Town. But This Always Happens. I Was Just One Step Away But Someone Always Gets In My Way." A Few Minutes Later He Dies.

I Pull Annie Into My Arms and She Wraps Her Arms Around Me With Equal Strength and I Growl, "That Bastard Will Pay For Hurting You" Annie Stands On Her Tip-Toes and I Lean Down and She Presses A Kiss To My Lips and She Murmurs, "Lets Go" I Nod and I Follow Her Away From The Destruction We Had Caused.


	21. Chapter 21

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 21 – Lost Girls Part 4**

 **At The Office**

Danielle's PoV

I Stand Behind Annie and Someone Opens The Door Slightly and Annie Slams Her Fist Into His Face and He Is Sent Spiralling To The Floor. I Smirk and We Both Walk Into The Room and Annie Growls, "There Are Days When You Wind Up In A Messy Situation Over A Trivial Matter." I Get Into My Stance and I Continue, "That Describes Today Perfectly. So Perfectly I Could Frame It and Put It Up On Display"

One Of The Guys Looks At Us and Asks, "Are Those The Girls? Ya Not Leaving Here Alive! Get Them!" and We Begin Fighting Them. After Defeating All Of Lugs Lackeys, Annie Begins Walking Towards Him With A Fire In Her Eyes That I Haven't Seen Since All The Times She Found Me Beaten and Bruised During Our Childhood. He Spins Around With A Gun Pointed At Us and He Points It At Me First and Pulls The Trigger.

It Hits Me In The Middle Of The Chest and He Points The Gun At Annie and He Growls, "I'll Kill Ya Both For Good This Time!" He Pulls The Trigger and Yells, "Eat This!" Annie Throws A Bottle At Him and The Bullet Hits The Bottle and The Shards Hit Lug.

Annie Grabs Him By The Hair and Slams Her Knee Into His Back and She Throws Him Down and I Pick Up The Gun and I Spin It In My Hand and I Pass It To Annie and I Breathe, "The Pleasure Is All Yours" Annie Smirks and She Takes The Gun From Me and Grabs Lug By The Hair and Shoves The Barrel Down His Throat and She Growls, "We We're Never Here and We Never Met You Or Waldo. Alright?"

Lug Nods and Annie Leans Close To His Face and In The Most Menacing Voice She Can Muster, Annie Growls, "If I Ever Find Out That You Said A Word About Us…." I Wait For Her To Pull The Trigger and She Pulls It Away and Looks At Me and Answers, "Do You Want A Turn?" I Smirk and I Pick Up One Of The Knives Off The Floor and I Crouch Down To His Level and I Say, "You Remember That Threat That I Made To You?" I Dig The Blade Into The Side Of His Face and Blood Drips Out Of The Wound and I Say, "Nah. I Won't Cut Your Balls Off" I Stand Up and I Drop The Knife and It Lands Directly In His Crotch.

He Howls In Pain and I Snarl, "That's For Touching My Girlfriend" Annie Crouches Back Down To His Level and Shoves The Gun Back Down His Throat and Growls, "Bang" Lug Screams In Horror and He Passes Out From Pain and Terror.

I Laugh, and I Pull My Promise Ring From Around His Neck and Annie Pulls Hers From Off His Hand and I Hear, "Has It Ended?" I Spin Around and Annie Gasps, "You Are Carly Stratmann" I Cough and Annie Turns To Me and I Wave Her Off and I Say, "I'll Be Fine. I've Had Worse" I Kiss The Side Of Her Head and I Murmur, "This Is Your Case and Your Moment To Shine. Go On, I'll Be Alright Here" Annie Caresses My Cheek and I Smile At Her and She Walks Off With Carly and I Slump Down In A Chair In The Corner, Keeping Watch On These Idiots.

Annie's PoV

After Explaining Everything To Carly, She Takes A Drag Of Her Cigarette and Answers, "I See. Wayne Is Dead" I Nod and Say, "You Seem To Know Quite A Lot." Carly Nods and Answers, "Yeah. Other Than His Death" I Nod and Ask, "What Is Your Secret?" Carly Smiles and Answers, "I Don't Intend To Spend My Life In Jail Yet" I Look At Her and I Say, "I'm Willing To Overlook Everything If You Return Home. You Will Not Be Arrested For Whatever You Have Done. I'm Just Curious About It, That's All" Carly Sighs and Answers, "Production Of Codaime"

I Raise A Brow and Ask, "Production Of Codaime? You Mean You Made That?" Carly Nods and Answers, "Yes. The Process Is Surprisingly Simple Of You Know The Chemistry Of Morphin." I Hum and Murmur, "Morphin" Carly Nods and Continues, "To The West Of Rose, Under The MP's Jurisdiction Is A Calshna Field. Morphin Is Obtained By Purifying The Fluid Extract From Those Plants. From There We Go Through A Complicated Process To Purchase Part Of The Chemicals In The MP's Stock. While Soldiers Need Those Drugs, You People, The MP Hardly Do, Right? Then All We Need Are The Items That Can Be Legally Obtained To Form The Drugs"

I Send Her A Look and She Exclaims, "You Don't Believe Me!" I Shake My Head and Answer, "No" Carly Sits Forward and Says, "Listen Up! First Morphin and Anemoa Are Combined In A 7:3 Mixture, and Then Heated For A Few Minutes Until Sequer and Acetol Are Separated. Once The Chemicals Are Separated, The Solution Is Heated To 77 Celsius and Acetic Anhydride Acid Is Added. Then The Next Step, The Most Intricate One Of Them All Is To…."

I Cut Her Off and I Say, "Alright. I Believe You" Carly Whines and Mumbles, "But I Was Just Getting To The Fun Part" I Look At Her and I Ask, "So You Sell Those Drugs To Wayne?" Carly Hums and Answers, "Wayne Is One Of The Many Dealers. Dad Is The Boss"

I Look At Her and Ask, "Mr Stratmann?!" Carly Nods and Answers, "We Hire People To Act As Passengers For The Marleen Carriage To Transport The Drugs To The Capital. Carriages Undergo Inspection At Checkpoints, But For Those With A Commercial License, Only Their Passengers, and Not The Goods, Are Subjected To It. Wayne Has The License To Remember? The Commercial Licence For Horse Carriages?"

I Narrow My Eyes and I Say, "But Codaime Was A New Drug That Was Introduced From The Capital." Carly Takes Another Drag Of Her Cigarette and Answers, "Indeed. I Forbade Dad From Selling It In This Town. That Was A Condition I Set Out To Him. If He Obliged By It, I Would Make Him Any Amount He Wanted. That Was Our Rule" I Nod and Say, "But Mr Stratmann Broke The Rule" Carly Nods and Answers, "The Drug Started To Be Sold In This Town. Our Clients In The Capital Are Mainly The Wealthy Folks. They Are Well Informed About The Drug and Do Not Buy Excessively But The People In This Town Are Not"

I Hum and Conclude, "So That's Why You Got Angry When You Spotted The Drug At The Bar" Carly Looks Out The Window and Answers, "I Asked Dad About It Right Away. However, He Tried To Talk Me Into It and That Was When I Felt It Was Time To End It." I Take A Gulp Of My Drink and I Ask, "and You Left Home. What Did You Do After That?"

Carly Curls Her Hair Around Her Fingers and She Sends Me A Flirty Smile and She Answers, "I Stayed With Wayne For Some Time. I Wanted To Leave This Town With Him But He Didn't Feel Like It. Soon Those Two Showed Up and You Should Know The Rest" I Roll My Eyes When She Sends Me Another Flirty Smile and I Ask, "Why Did Wayne Do That Though?"

Carly Sighs and Answer, "He Wanted Money. He Didn't Want To Lead A Poor Life With Me In An Unknown Town You See. But From What You Told Me, It Seems Like He Was Betrayed By That Lug Guy Too. He Must Be Blinded By Greed Too. Wayne, That Poor Thing"

I Try Not To Cringe When I Am Hit By Another Cloud Of Smoke and Carly Asks, "Hey, Officer. Could You Pretend That I Wasn't Found?" I Sigh and Say, "If You Do Not Return Home, You Will Put Me In A Really Bad Spot" Carly Sighs and Answers, "I'm Really Sorry About That" I Hold Her Gaze and I Ask, "Why Did You Start Making Codaime?"

Carly Sighs and Answers, "Dad Lost All He Had. I Just Wanted To Get It Back For Him" I Nod and After Talking For A Few More Minutes, I Walk Out The Room.

Danielle Perks Up When I Walk In and I Blush Hard When I See Her Topless, With Steam Floating Off Her Wounds and Sweat and What Seems Like Alcohol Dripping Down Her Torso. I Gulp and Danielle Pulls Her T-Shirt Back On and Asks, "How Did It Go?" I Walk Over To Her and I Say, "I'm Going Back To HQ To Get Carly A Pass Into Wall Rose. Do You Wanna Come?" She Nods and Says, "Yeah. I'll Help You Dispose Of Wayne's Body Too" I Nod and We Walk Out Of The Bar and Towards The Stohess Base.

At The Stohess Base

Danielle's PoV

I Lean On A Wall As Annie Digs Through Some Doors Looking For A Travel Permit. Once She Finds One, She Leads Me Through The Base, Picking Up A Letter For Her On The Way and We Walk Upstairs To Her Room.

She Pushes Open The Door and She Begins Reading The Letter and She Slowly Strips From Her Jacket and Hoodie. I Do The Same and She Throws Me A Hoodie That I Recognize As One Of Mine and I Whisper, "Where Did You Get This?" Annie Sends Me A Grin and Whispers, "I Took It From Your Bag After We Chose Our Factions"

I Nod and I Pull It On and I Walk Over To My Girlfriend and I Wrap My Arms Around Her Waist Just As She Pulls A New Hoodie Over Her Torso. It Bunches Up As It Rests On My Arms and I Kiss Her Cheek and I Say, "I Love You, You Know That?" Annie Nods and Answers, "I Know" I Pull Her Into A Kiss and She Smiles Against My Lips and I Feel Tears Wet Her Cheeks.

I Pull Away and I Ask, "Annie? Why Are You Crying?" She Turns In My Arms and Whimpers, "I Don't Want To Lose You. Promise You Won't Ever Leave Me?" I Choke Up At The Vulnerable Tone To Her Voice and I Say, "I Promise. I Will Never Leave You" Annie Nods and Answers, "I Want You To Promise Me Something Else"

I Nod, and I Say, "Anything" Annie Looks Me In The Eyes and Says, "If Something Happens To Me, Promise Me That You'll Break That Promise and Leave Me. No Matter How Much It Hurts You To Do So, Leave Me Behind" I Nod With Tears Pooling In My Eyes and I Choke, "I-I Promise" Annie Nods and She Pulls Away After Drying My Tears and Shoves Our Trashed Clothes Into A Bag and She Pulls Another Jacket On and She Takes My Hand and We Walk Out and Towards The Bar.

We Stand Outside and Carly Walks Outside and She Asks, "Why Didn't You Go In?" Annie Sighs and Answers, "Well, I Don't Think The Drunkards Would Like It" Carly Giggles and Answers, "Ahh, I See. They Were Speaking Badly Of Both Of You" I Shrug and The Barman Walks Out and Says, "Carly" Carly Turns Around and He Places Money In Her Handbag.

He Sighs and Answers, "There Isn't Much Left." Carly Nods and Answers, "Yeah" Carly Kisses The Barman On The Cheek and Murmurs, "Goodbye" and Then She Walks Off With Annie and I Following Behind.

Carly Looks Back At Us and Says, "He Is An Old Friend. I Left Most Of My Earnings With Him" I Raise A Brow and Ask, "You Treated The Drunkards With Money?" Annie Looks AT Her and Asks, "Why Are You So Kind To Them?" Carly Shrugs and Answers, "I Don't Know. I Don't Know But Perhaps It Was Because They Have No Idea That Once Something Is Gone, You Can Never Get It Back" I Stay Silent and Carly Asks, "Say. Have You Two Ever Gone Against Your Fathers?" Annie Nods and Answers, "Only Once."

Carly Nods and Answers, "I Guess That's Pretty Normal, Huh?" Carly Looks Back At Me and Asks, "How About You?" I Shake My Head and I Say, "Never. I Always Went Against My Uncle Though. My Father Wouldn't Lay A Hand On Me Because I Was His Prized Little Girl But My Uncle Thought Differently. Whenever I Would Stay With Him, He Would Beat Me Black and Blue Until I Apologized For Existing"

Annie Squeezes My Hand and Carly Says, "How Did That…." I Hear A Growl and I Raise A Brow and Annie Clutches Her Stomach. I Laugh, "Is Someone Hungry" I Tease. Annie Is About To Reply When My Stomach Growls. Annie Pokes My Cheek and Mocks, "Is Someone Hungry?" I Chuckle and Carly Laughs, "Wait A Minute. I'll Be Right Back" Annie Looks Down With A Look In Her Eyes and I Know Immediately What She Is Thinking About.

Flashback

It Was A Warm Day In Liberio and I Was Walking Around Town With My Father. I Send A Grin At My Dad and I Ask, "Papa? Can I Go and Visit Annie?" He Nods and Answers, "Of Course Honey. Be Home By Dinner" I Nod and Begin Sprinting Towards The Gate To The Interment Zone.

I Walk Through The Gate After Showing My Pass and I Begin My Quiet Trek To Annie's House. I Stand In The Trees As I Watch My Best Friend Train With Her Father and He Yells, "What Are You Doing, Annie?! Come On!" I Can See By The Look Of Her Face That She Is Literally Sick Of Her Father Ordering Her Around and She Growls, "I've Had Enough" Mr Leonhardt Growls and Yells, "What Was That?! I Said No Resting!" Annie Kicks Him With A Yell Of Anger and Her Father Drops and She Keeps Kicking Him Over and Over.

I Run Out Of The Treeline and I Pick Her Up By The Waist and I Haul Her Away From The Older Man While She Kicks and Screams. I Hold Her Against My Chest, "Shh. Annie, Its Alright" I Soothe Gently and She Begins Crying Into My T-Shirt.

Her Father Gets Up and He Walks Away. I Feel Annie Tighten Her Grip On Me and She Breathes, "Don't Go… Please" I Shake My Head and I Answer, "I'm Not Going Anywhere, Annie. I'm Staying Right Here" Her Father Comes Back A Few Hours Later With A Bandage Around His Leg and A Crutch.

He Walks Over and Despite The Pain In His Leg, He Crouches Down and Says, "Annie. Your Attack Was Outstanding. That Just Shows That You Can Get Stronger." Annie Looks At Her Father and He Wipes Away Her Remaining Tears and That Was The Day That Our Fathers Started Training Us Together and The Day Our Promises To Each Other Started.

End Of Flashback

Carly Taps My Head With A Bottle Of Limeade and She Does The Same To Annie and She Says, "Here" We Both Take The Bottles and Annie Asks, "What's In There?" She Nods Towards The Bag In Carly's Hand and Carly Giggles and Pulls Out A Donut. She Grins and Yells, "Ta-Da! It's Donuts" Annie Raises A Brow and Asks, "Donuts?"

Carly Gasps and Exclaims, "No Way! You've Never Heard Of Them?!" Annie Gulps and Answers, "I Have But…" Carly Passes One To Each Of Us and She Answers, "I Have Gotten You Both The Best Donuts In This Area. Come On… Try It" I Bite Down On Mine and I Look At Annie and I Almost Laugh When I See That She Looks Like A Chipmunk.

I Swallow Mine and Annie Holds Her Hand Out To Carly and She Growls, "I'll Have Another" Carly Smiles and Passes Annie The Other Donut and I Lean Forward When My Girlfriend Isn't Looking and I Take A Bite Out Of It.

Annie Looks Down At Her Donut and Then At Me and I Stop Chewing and I Look At Her Innocently. She Glares At Me and I Say, "Oh Shut It and Eat" Annie Sticks Her Tongue Out At Me and I Wipe The Sugar Off Her Face and I Lick It Off My Thumb With An Innocent Grin.

We Sit In Silence For A Few Moments Before Carly Pipes Up and Says, "No One Else But Me Knows It. I'm The Only One Who Knows How To Make Codaime. If I'm Not Around, Dad Will Also Be Done For" Annie Sighs and She Passes Carly The Travel Permit and Says, "This Is The Travel Permit For Wall Rose. I Forged It Though."

I Look At Her and I Ask, "Why Do You Want To Leave This Town? You Just Need To Stop Making Codaime, Right?" Carly Sighs and Answers, "If I See Dad In His Current State, I Might Continue To Make Codaime. If I Do, The Folks Will…"

Annie Looks At Her and Asks, "So You Chose The Drunkards Of This Town Over Your Own Father?" I Stroke Annie's Hand With My Thumb and Carly Answers, "I'm Not Very Sure Of That But I Think This Town Is Better Off Without Me. That's All" Annie Nods and Answers, "Alright. I Won't Stop You" Carly Stands Up and She Shakes Hands With Both Of Us and Breathes, "I Have To Go Now. Thank You"

I Nod, and I Say, "Hey Carly? If Your Willing To Wait Around For A Few More Hours, Then I'll Take You Back To Wall Rose. I've Got To Help Annie Close This Case Up, Hit The Showers and Then I'll Meet You By The Stables. My Horse Is The Pure Black One With A Survey Corps Saddle On." Carly Nods and Answers, "I'd Like That. Thank You" I Nod and She Walks Off. I Send A Smile To Annie and We Begin Our Trek To Stratmann's House.

At Stratmann's House

I Sit With My Arm Around Annie, Not Afraid To Show My Affection This Time and Stratmann Asks, "Do You Think My Daughter Will Come Home?" Annie Shrugs As She Leans Back Into My Body and Answers, "I Have No Idea" Stratmann Sighs and Answers, "But I Suppose If She Were To Return, It Could Take Quite Some Time. No. I Don't Think She Will Ever Come Home"

Annie Looks At The Older Male and She Asks, "That Smells Nice. That Is Quite A Rare Cigarette, Isn't It?" Stratmann Nods and Answers, "You Have A Good Eye. This Cigarette Was Previously Produced In Wall Maria. I Should Be The Only Person Who Can Enjoy Them Right Now. There Are Barley Any Left and Once They're Depleted, I Won't Get To Enjoy It Again. Good Things Will All Be Gone Eventually"

Annie Sits Up and Asks, "You Killed Wayne Eisner, Didn't You?" Stratmann Looks At Us and Chuckles, "That's Absurd" Annie Sighs and Asks, "Everything I Say From Here On Out Is Just A Hunch. Are You Willing To Hear Me Out? My Thoughts Happen To Be All Over The Place and I Would Like To Sort Them Out." Stratmann Nods For Her To Continue.

Annie Continues, "I'll Start From The Memo You Received From The Butler This Morning When I Was Here Speaking With You. That Was Written By Wayne. Wayne Was Keeping A Close Watch On You. He Should Have Seen Danielle and I Entering Your Premises. When He Realized The MP Were On The Move, He Feared That The Truth Would Get Out and Decided To Make You Hand The Money Over Earlier Than Planned. He Left A Memo At Your Premises. 'I'll Return Your Daughter. Bring The Money To My House' After I Left, You Went To Wayne's House. The Two Of You Drank and Chatted. I Don't Know What You Talked About But That Ultimately Ended When You Killed Wayne. When His Neighbour Started Yelling, You Hid Wayne's Body Under The Bed and Ran Off."

I Sit Up and Continue, "After That, Waldo Visited Your Residence. He Knew The MP Were On The Move Because Lug Saw Danielle and I At The Bar. Then You Told Waldo That I Was Working Alone and That I Was On My Way To Wayne's House. You Wanted To Lead Waldo and Lug To Wayne's House Where His Body Was Hidden. However, Once Waldo Knew That We Were At The Bar, He Should Have An Idea That We Would Arrive At Wayne's. He Already Sent Lug Over To Keep Watch On Wayne. That Was Why He Had Misunderstood That Lug Had Killed Wayne In Order To Hog The Cash."

Annie Nods and Concludes, "After That, You Went On To The Military Police Branch. That Is To Make Waldo and Lug Scapegoats For Wayne's Murder. If That MP Called Annie Arrests Those Guys, This Case Will Come To A Close. It Is Inevitable That The Codaime Will Come To, Light But I Can Settle That With Some Cash. Most MP Are Easily Brought Over With Cash. Every Month, I Will Feed Them With Cash and Drugs. That Tiny Amount Of Cash Is Nothing To Me. 'If She Saw The Memo With My Message, She Should Deduce That These Two Are The Murderers' That Was What You Had In Mind"

Stratmann Look At Her and Asks, "That's It?" Annie Nods and Stratmann Answers, "You're Right. All These Are Nothing But A Hunch. That Was Completely Non-Sensical" Annie Smirks and Breathes, "That's It." Stratmann Raises A Brow and Annie Continues, "That Cigarette. I Saw That In The Ashtray At Wayne's House. The Cigarette Butt Had The Exact Same Red Line" Stratmann Chuckles and Answers, "That's Nothing But Circumstantial Evidence" Annie Nods and Answers, "True" I Hum and Ask, "Aren't You The Only Person Who Can Enjoy That?"

Annie Reaches Into Her Pocket and States, "However, If You Are Not Guilty, Then You Wouldn't Need To Leave This Message Behind. Instead Of Doing This, You Could Have Told Me About Wayne Right From The Start. You Should Not Have Left This Message. If You Hadn't Done So- Either Way, Its Over For You If The MP Carry Out A Proper Investigation"

Stratmann Sighs and Answers, "It Was An Accident. That Scum Had No Intention To Hand Over My Daughter. He Wanted To Make Me Drunk and Grab My Money-" Annie Cuts Him Off and Growls, "I Don't Care About That. Before That, Could You Kindly Stop Smoking?" Stratmann Gapes At Her and Stammers, "Th-This Is My Home! You Have No Right Ordering Me To Stop! I Shall Do As I Please-"

Annie Cuts Him Off By Swiping The Cigarette From His Hand and I Stand Up and I Drop His Unlit Cigarettes In His Glass Of Whiskey and Annie Growls, "Today, Since This Morning, We Have Been Breathing In The Smell Of Cigarettes and Alcohol. Every Single Person We Have Met Today Was Either Drinking Or Smoking Or Doing Illegal Drugs. Except Wayne" Annie Drops His Cigarette Into His Glass and Growls, "I Have Had It"

Stratmann Looks At Us and Asks, "What Made You So Irritated?" Annie Sighs and Breathes, "I'm Not Irritated. I Am Just Tired. Tomorrow…. Well Actually That's Today, We Have Something Important To Do and We Have To Wake Up Early. Before That, We Need To Have A Good Rest. I Also Want To Cuddle With My Girlfriend Before She Returns To Wall Rose In Time For Tomorrow. That's Why I Want To End This Fast. That Is All"

Stratmann Rises From His Seat and Answers, "Fine. But Do Allow Me To Smoke In Jail" Annie Looks At Him and Answers, "You Are Not Going To Jail"

 **Time Skip – Storage Area For Waste Liquid**

I Help Stratmann Throw Wayne's Body In The Waste Liquid and Annie Throws The Bag With Our Clothes In It. Stratmann Turns To Us and He Asks, "Why Did You Throw Wayne In That? You Are Trying To Help Me, Aren't You?" Annie Shales Her Head and She Says, "Please Don't Be Mistaken. We Are Just Helping Ourselves"

 **On The Way Back To The MP HQ**

I Lie With My Head In Annie's Lap As Stratmann Drives Us Back To The HQ and Annie Says, "You Have Lost Your Daughter and You Will Lose Your Business As Well. This Time, Perhaps No One Will Show Up To Lend You A Helping Hand. You Won't Get A Second Chance" Stratmann Chuckles and Answers, "This Is The Worst Punishment For Me."

Annie Plays With My Hair and She Asks, " Why Do You Always Take Dinner With Your Daughter?" Stratmann Sighs and Breathes, "To Discuss Our Business. Like The Sales Of Codaime, Client Information, The Quantity To Produce. Our Talk Revolves Around The Drug Business Every Night."

Stratmann Laughs Slightly and Continues, "It's Strange, Isn't It? What Kind Of Conversation Do You Two Usually Have With Your Own Fathers?" Annie Shrugs and Breathes, "Nothing Important" I Sigh and Answer, "I Never Got To See My Father. He Was Always Busy"

We Stop At The HQ and We Both Climb Out and I Say, "See You Around, Mr Stratmann" He Waves and Annie Says, "Goodbye" Stratmann Nods and Answers, "Bye. You're Both Welcome To Drop By My House Anytime You Like. I'll Treat You To Good Food" I Wrap My Arms Around Annie and I Rest My Chin On Her Head and Annie Replies, "Thank You Very Much But I Have No Idea If We Could. I Might Be Leaving This Town"

Stratmann Raises A Brow and Asks, "Are You Transferring?" Annie Shakes Her Head and Answers, "No. If Things Go Well, We Will Be Able To Return To Our Hometown" He Nods and After We Bid Him Farewell, We Both Walk Inside and Annie Writes A Report, Leaves It On Her Superiors Desk and Then We Hit The Showers.

I Strip From My Clothes and I Make A Move To Walk Into A Different Stall When Annie Calls, "Get In Here, You Idiot" I Gulp and I Walk Into Her Stall and I Wrap My Arms Around Her Waist and I Kiss Her Head. The Water Splashes Both Of Us and I Sigh Happily and Annie Asks, "Danielle?" I Hum and Say, "Yeah, Beautiful?" Annie Turns Around In My Arms and Asks, "Will We Ever Go Home?" I Nod and Say, "We Will. Hell, I'll Fight All Of Eldia To Get Us Home" I Tilt Her Head Up and I Say, "If We Are Ever Parted For Whatever Reason, I Can Promise You That Through Heaven Or Hell, Fire Or Rain, I Will Return To You" Annie Wraps Her Arms Around My Neck and Pulls Me Into A Kiss.

I Rest My Forehead Against Hers When We Part, and I Murmur, "I Won't Leave Your Side Tomorrow. Titan Form Or Otherwise. I Will Be There, Fighting By Your Side" Annie Nods and She Breathes, "I Guess You Have To Go Now?" I Nod, and I Say, "I'll See You In A Few Hours" Annie Nods and We Get Out Of The Shower and I Pull On My Clothes and I Follow Annie Out Into The Corridor and I Say, "See You Soon, Princess"

Annie Rolls Her Eyes and She Replies, "I Told You To Stop Calling Me That" I Nod and Say, "Yeah. When We Were Five" Annie Sighs and After Embracing In The Corridor and Sharing Soft, Passionate Kisses and I Love You's For A Few Minutes I Pull Away From My Girlfriend and I Make My Way Out Of The Stohess Base and Towards The Stables.

I Smile At Carly Who Is Leaning Against The Wall and I Say, "Ready To Go?" She Looks Up and Nods. I Lead My Horse Out Of The Stall and I Climb On and I Help Carly Up. She Wraps Her Arms Around My Waist and We Begin Our Trek To Wall Rose.


	22. Chapter 22

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 22 – The 57** **th** **Expedition Part 1**

 **Karanes District – Wall Rose**

Danielle's PoV

I Send A Smile Towards Armin and He Asks, "Where Are You Going To Be In The Formation?" I Look Forward and I Say, "Commander Erwin Thought It Was Fitting To Have Me In The Vanguard, On The Right Flank" Armin Gulps and He Asks, "So Right At The Front Of The Formation?" I Nod and Answer, "Yeah" Armin Rests His Hand On My Shoulder and Answers, "Be Careful…. Please" I Nod and Say, "I'll Be Alright. Just Don't Piss Yourself" Armin Laughs and Answers, "Same Goes For You!" I Smile and I Ride Into My Position.

I Pat The Neck Of My Horse and I Feel Someone Staring At Me. I Turn My Head and I See Mikasa Staring At Me. I Send Her A Grin and I Mouth, "You Nervous?" Mikasa Nods Slightly and Mouths Back, "Yeah. You?" I Nod and Mouth, "I'd Be Stupid If I Wasn't. Take Care Of Yourself Out There, Alright?" Mikasa Nods and Mouths, "You Too. Armin Told Me Where You Were Situated In The Formation" I Shrug and Mouth, "It Can't Be Helped. I'll See You After, Alright?" She Nods and Mouths, "Yeah" and We Both Face The Front.

I Look Around At My Friends and Each One Of Them Send Me A Nervous Grin Which I Counter With A Cocky One Of My Own. I Turn Back To Face The Front When I Hear, "Commander! Almost Ready! We Led The Nearest Titans Some Distance Away! Thirty Seconds To Gate Opening!" One Of Miche's Squad Members, Gelgar, Raises His Blade and Yells, "This Is It! Now The Human Race Takes Another Step Forward!" Another Member Of Miche's Squad, Nanaba, Raises Her Blade and Yells, "Show Me What You've Learned!" I Roll My Eyes and Commander Erwin Yells, "Open The Gate! Launch The 57th Expedition Outside The Wall! ADVANCE!" and We Ride Out The Gate.

I Hear Footsteps and I Hear, "10 Meter* Class Titan Approaching From The Left!" One Of The Support Team Members Yells, "Shit! One Got Past!" Another One Darts Towards The Titan and Yells, "Defend The Line To The Death!" I See Sasha Flinch As She Looks At The Titan and The Leader Of Her Squad Yells, "Don't Flinch! Trust In The Support Team and Keep Going!" Sasha Nods and She Looks Forward and I Hear, "ADVANCE! ADVANCE!"

I Look Either Side Of Me To Find Reiner, Armin and Jean and I Hear, "Long Distance Enemy Scouting Formation! DEPLOY!" I Smile At My Friends and Reiner Says, "Don't Piss Yourself Danielle. You're On The Front Lines" I Laugh and Say, "Same Goes For You Three!" and I Ride Off To My Position With My Signal Gun Ready.

After A Few Minutes Of Riding, I Encounter A Titan. I Fire Off A Red Flare and I Look Around To See Others Do The Same. I See The Commanders Green Flare and I Continue Riding In Formation.

My Eyes Dart Around and I Murmur, "I Thought There Would Be More Titans Than That" and That's When I Hear It. The Loud Thudding Of Feet That Tells Me To Turn Around. I Turn My Head and I See A Large Horde Of Titans With The Female Titan Leading The Pack. I Turn Back Around With A Smirk and I Hear The Screams Coming From The Right Flank.

I Stand On My Horses Saddle and Once The Female Titan Sprints Past Me, I Hook My Anchors Onto Her Back and I Climb Up To Her Shoulder. I See Her Eyes Dart In My Direction and I Smile Cheekily and I Say, "Heya!" She Rolls Her Eyes and I Cross My Arms With A Huff and I Say, "Missed You Too Asshole" I Feel One Of Her Fingers Tap Me On The Head and I Look Forward and I See Three Soldiers In Annie's Path.

I Hiss and Say, "Crap!" I Hook My Anchors Into The Side Of Her Neck and Slowly But Carefully, Climb Up Her Neck and I Hide In Her Hair. I Cover Myself In Her Hair So I Can't Be Seen, and I Hear, "Don't Let It Go! Siss!" I Gulp, and I Think, _'Squad Leader Ness and Siss? That Means…. The Third Soldier Is Armin!'_

I Hear The Squish Of Someone Getting Grabbed and I Hear Squad Leader Ness Scream As He's Thrown Into The Floor. After A Few Minutes I Hear Annie Jump and I Hold My Breath and I Hear Armin Scream When Annie Lands.

I Climb Down From My Hiding Place and I Hook Myself Onto The Side Of Her Neck, Just Below Annie's Ear and I Look Down and I See Armin Kneeling On The Floor and I See His Eyes Lock Onto My Figure But Thankfully, I'm Shielded By Annie's Hair So He Can Only See My Outline.

Annie Stands Up and She Begins Running Off. I Sigh, and I Say, "You Spared Him…. Why?" I Hear The Female Titan Huff and I Say, "Love, I Don't Speak Titan" With A Hint Of Teasing In My Voice and Annie Lifts Her Hand and My Eyes Widen When I See That She Is Ready To Flick Me.

I Cross My Arms With A Smirk and I Say, "You Wouldn't Dare" She Lowers Her Hand and I Turn My Head and I Say, "I Told Y-" I Get Cut Off By Annie Flicking Me. I Yelp and I Manage To Hook Onto Her Shoulder and When I Climb Up To My Original Spot, I Ask, "What The Hell Was That For?!" The Female Titan Huffs Again and I Ask, "Because I Was Being Annoying?" The Titan Nods and I Say, "Oh…. My Bad" and I Settle Myself Back Into Place and I Say, "Alright. I'll See You Soon Alright?" The Female Titan Huffs In Reply and I Say, "Love You!" She Huffs Again and I Jump Off and I Mount My Horse and I Ride Away.

Armin's PoV

I Look At The Titan and Reiner Asks, "I Saw The Flare Indicating An Abnormal. Was That It? The One With The Nice Ass?" I Shake My Head and Answer, "That's Not An Abnormal! It's A Human In A Titan Body!" Reiner Looks At Me and Asks, "What?!" I Gasp, and I Say, "Wait! We've Got To Fire Off A Flare!" I Pull The Signal Gun Out Of The Pouch and I Say, "H-Have To Hurry! This Is An Emergency! We've Got To Fire A Flare and Let Them Know!" I Hear The Sound That Signals A Flare Has Been Fired.

Reiner Turns His Head and He Points Out, "Wait! It Looks Like Jean Already Fired One Off" I Turn My Head and I Say, "Flares From The Right Flank?! The Formation's Been Hit So Hard The Mission Must Be Aborted?!" Jean Catches Up To Us and He Yells, "Looks Like Part Of The Right Flank Enemy Scouting Team Has Been Wiped Out! A Bunch Of Titans Suddenly Showed Up, and I Have No Idea Why! Lots Of Them Can Run Pretty Fast Too! We're Golding Them Off For Now, Somehow, But We Can't Scout Anymore! We've Already Suffered Major Losses, and At This Rate, We'll Be Wiped Out!"

I Gulp and Say, "Danielle Was On The Right Flank! She's In The Front Position On The First Column!" Jean Gulps and Answers, "I Don't Know Armin…. Danielle Is Strong But She Might Have Gotten Overwhelmed"

Reiner Shrugs and Answers, "Or She Has Regrouped With Someone Else…. Like Mikasa!" I Nod and Say, "She Got Away! She Had To!" Jean Looks Away and I Look At The Titan Directly In Front Of Us and I Continue, "But That's The Same Direction That One Came From! Don't Tell Me That One Lead The Other Titans Here?!"

Jean Raises His Brow and He Asks, "Which One?" Jean Spots It and Asks, "What The Hell Is That Titan Doing Over There? Is It An Abnormal?" I Shake My Head and I Answer, "No, It's Not. That's A Human In A Titan's Body. Someone With The Same Ability As Eren" Jean Looks At Me and Asks, "What?!"

Reiner Looks At Me and Asks, "Armin, What Makes You Think That?" I Look At Him and I Say, "All Titans Do Is Eat Humans. Humans Die As A Result, But Their Goal Isn't To Murder Us But As Soon As The Two Soldiers I Was With Targeted Her Weak Point, That Female Titan Squeezed Them To Death and Dashed Them Against The Ground! She Killed Them To Kill Them, Not To Eat Them! That Kind Of Behaviour Sets Her Apart From The Other Titans. When The Colossus Titan and The Armoured Titan Broke Through The Wall, She Must Have Been The One That Led The Other Titans To The Hole. Her One Purpose Seems To Be To Attack The Human Race But On The Other Hand, I Had A Feeling She Was Looking For Someone and If That's The Case, I Bet The Person She's Searching For Is Eren!"

Reiner Looks At Me and Asks, "Eren?! Eren's In Squad Levi, Which Is Leading The Right Flank, Where That Titan Was!" I Look At Him and Jean Asks, "The Right Flank? According To The Operational Chart I Was Given, He's Supposed To Be Stationed Near The Back Of The Left Flank."

I Narrow My Eyes In Thought and I Say, "The Copy I Received Has Him Positioned Up Front On The Right Flank But There's No Way They'd Put Him On The Front Line" Reiner Raises A Brow and Asks, "All Right, Then Where The Hell Is Eren?" I Think For A Second and I Say, "They'd Have To Put Him In The Safest Spot In The Formation So He's In The Centre Towards The Back…. Maybe"

Jean Looks At Me and He Barks, "Armin! We Don't Have Time To Think Things Over Right Now! If The Flare Reaches The Commander's Squad, and We're Ordered To Pull Out, We Should Be Able To Avoid The Group Of Titans On The Right. But Even If That One Really Is As Big A Threat As The Colossus Or Armoured Titan, We're Not Prepared To Relay Complex Info Like That Through Flares and If It Crushes The Commander's Squad Before The Flare Even Gets To Them, The Entire Formation Will Be Split Apart and We'll Be Annihilated" Reiner Looks At Jean and Asks, "What Are You Trying To Say?" Jean Sighs and Answers, "What I'm Saying Is That From This Distance, It May Still Be Possible To Draw It's Attention. Maybe The Three Of Us Can Buy Some Time Until The Order Is Give To Retreat…. Somehow"

I Look Forward and I Say, "Like I Said, That One Really Is Intelligent. From Her Point Of View, We're Nothing More Than Insects. If She "Swats" Us, We'll Be Crushed To A Pulp" Jean Chuckles and Answers, "Seriously? That's Scary" Reiner Looks At Him and Asks, "Are You Really Jean Kirschtein? The Jean I Know Only Thinks About Himself" Jean Sighs and Answers, "Are You Really Gonna Bust My Chops? I Just Don't Want Those Charred Bones I Saw To Be Disappointed In Me"

Jean Looks At Us and He Yells, "I Know… I Know What Needs To Be Done Right Now! and All Of Us Chose This Job! So, Help Me Out Here!" I Nod, and I Say, "Put Your Hood On! All The Way So She Can't See Your Face! As Long As She Doesn't Know Who We Are, She Shouldn't Be Able To Kill Us!"

Reiner Chuckles and Answers, "I See… She Won't Murder Anybody Who Could Possibly Be Eren. That Gives Me Some Peace Of Mind. Let's Hope Her Eyesight Is Bad To Boot" Jean Laughs and He Says, "You Know, Armin, I've Always Been Creeped Out By The Way You Fawn Over Eren But I Always Though You Were A Capable Guy" I Look At Him and I Say, "Thanks I Guess But "Creeped Out" Is Pretty Harsh." Jean Smirks and He Says, "Alright, Listen Up You Two. Starting Now, Do What I Tell You" and We Begin Engaging The Female Titan.


	23. Chapter 23: OC Backstory

_**(A/N: THIS BACKSTORY CONTAINS A FEW EVENTS THAT HAPPEN IN THE UPCOMING CHAPTERS AND A BIT ABOUT S2)**_

 **Name:**

 **Danielle Redwolf**

 **First name meaning:**

 **'God is my judge'**

 **Last name meaning:**

 **'Child of the Wolf'**

 **Alias:**

 **Armoured Wolf Titan**

 **Marley's Crimson Warrior**

 **BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION:**

 **Species:**

 **Human, Intelligent Titan**

 **Gender:**

 **Female**

 **Zodiac: Aries**

 **Age:**

 **11 (845)**

 **16 (850)**

 **20 (854)**

 **Sexuality:**

 **Lesbian**

 **Love interest:**

 **Annie Leonhardt**

 **Nationality: Scottish (Mother's side), German (Father's side)**

 **Height:**

 **203cm (6'8)**

 **Weight:**

 **95kg (850)**

 **98kg (854)**

 **Relatives:**

 **Redwolf Family:**

 **Arya Redwolf - (Mother)**

 **Unnamed Grandfather - (Maternal side)**

 **Unnamed Grandmother - (Maternal side)**

 **Magath Family:**

 **Theodore Magath - (Father)**

 **Lucan Magath - (Uncle)**

 **Unnamed Grandfather - (Paternal side)**

 **Unnamed Grandmother - (Paternal side) Birthday:**

 **21st March 834**

 **Birthplace:**

 **Liberio**

 **Current status:**

 **Alive**

 **PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION**

 **OCCUPATION:**

 **Warrior**

 **AFFILIATION:**

 **Marleyan military**

 **Warrior Unit**

 **FORMER OCCUPATION:**

 **Soldier**

 **FORMER RANK:**

 **Recruit (** **新兵** **Shinpei?)**

 **Warrior Candidate (** **戦士候補生** **Senshi Kōho-sei?)**

 **FORMER AFFILIATION:**

 **Scout Regiment**

 **104th Cadet Corps**

 **GRAD RANK:**

 **1st**

 **GRADE: A++**

 **OTHER INFORMATION**

 **TITAN KILLS:**

 **Solo: unknown**

 **In team: unknown**

 **Total: unknown**

 **ABILITIES:**

 **Statistics:**

Combat: 10/10

Initiative: 5/10

Wits: 8/10

Teamwork: 2/10

Aggressiveness: 9/10

Strength: 10/10

Leadership: 6/10

Concentration: 9/10

Agility: 8/10

Ruthless: 7/10

Intelligence: 10/10

 **Power of the Titans:**

Danielle can transform into an 18 meter Titan called the Armoured Wolf Titan (装甲ウルフタイタン) Danielle uses this form to protect the Female Titan during the 57th Expedition but is also taken down by Levi. As she retains her human intelligence, she uses her hand-to-hand combat skills against other human-turned-Titans such as Eren (in the forest of giant trees), which in conjunction with her armor-like skin, gives her a solid advantage in combat.

 **Regeneration:**

Danielle, like all other Titans and humans with the Titan powers alike, has the ability to automatically regenerate any wounds sustained and even entire limbs. This also applies to her human form.

 **Regeneration Withdrawal:**

Danielle possesses the ability to consciously control her regenerative ability, keeping it "off" to prevent injuries from blowing her cover as a Titan spy. She is not the only one shown to be able to use this specific ability and notably in human form as Reiner also has this ability. Unlike Reiner, Danielle's ability extends to other regenerative abilities, such as the selective regeneration practiced by the Female Titan.

 **Enhanced Strength:**

During the 57th expedition, Danielle used her enhanced strength to momentarily defeat Erens Titan form by using the strength to power her kicks and punches.

 **Enhanced Speed:**

During the warriors betrayal, Danielle in her Titan form used her enhanced speed to get from Stohess District to the wall to help Reiner and Bertholdt. While fully armored her speed is noted to be much slower, however just like Reiner, Danielle has shown that she can choose to shed certain areas of her armor, such as joints located at the back of her legs, boosting her overall speed. This tactic was used several times by her successfully during her fight against Eren's Titan form in the forest of giant trees.

 **Armor Hardening:**

While transforming into the Armored Wolf Titan, Danielle's body automatically produces a hardened, armor-like skin that covers most of her body, save for areas such as her joints at the back of her legs. The armor is hard enough to repel blows from other Titans such as Eren and blade strikes from the vertical maneuvering equipment. The durability of this armor is enough to withstand machine gun bullets and thunder spears.

As stated previously, the Armored Wolf Titan can choose to harden or not to harden joints at will, sacrificing speed and combat ability for protection. However, her body needs gaps around the joints in order to move with necessary speed. This makes her vulnerable in just a few spots, like the inner part of her knees and her elbows. Additionally, she can harden her fingertips and toes into points in order to grip and climb flat, vertical surfaces like the Walls.

 **Fire Breath:**

Danielle's Titan is able to breathe fire. It is demonstrated when she breathes fire onto a sword that she created from her armor when fighting Eren in the forest of giant trees.

 **Structural hardening**

The Armoured Wolf Titan can produce and manipulate structures that are made up of its hardened Titan Armor. Just like the Warhammer Titan, the structures can be weaponized—forming pikes large enough to impale and lift a Titan, flood areas with protrusions such as spikes, and manifest its signature sword. This ability can also create flexible weapons, such as the string of a crossbow or the whips of a cat-o'-nine-tails. The hardening can also create wings that Danielle can use to protect herself.

Much like the Female Titan, this hardening can also be used to encase the human operator of the Armoured Wolf Titan in a crystalline barrier. While durable, this crystal can be damaged when struck or crushed by a more resilient structure, such as the Jaw Titan's claws and teeth. However, Danielle considers the crystal as a last resort.

 **Armoured Wolf Titan's Statistics:**

Power 8/10

Speed 6/10

Hardness 11/10

Machoness 10/10

Legend 10/10

 **Armoured Wolf Titans**

◄ **Preceded by**

 **Unknown**

 **Danielle Redwolf (843-Current)**

 **Followed by**

 **None**

 **ABOUT:**

Danielle Redwolf (ダニエル・レッドウォルフDanieru reddou~orufu) is the legitimate daughter of Commander Theodore Magath (テオドール・マガト Teodōru magato) and Arya Redwolf (アリア・レッドウォルフ Aria reddou~orufu) and grew up in Liberio's internment zone; eventually, she was selected as a child to become one of Marley's Warriors. At the age of nine, she inherited the power of the Armoured Wolf Titan.

In the year 845, she infiltrated Paradis Island alongside Annie Leonhardt, Bertholdt Hoover, Reiner Braun and Marcel Galliard as part of an operation to reclaim the Founding Titan. She joined the Survey Corps after graduating 1st in the 104th Training Corps.

 **Appearance:**

 **Human form**

In human form, Danielle has long brown hair, Admiral blue eyes, and a defined facial structure. Her large height, athletic build, and stoic expression gives her an intimidating presence. She also has a few scars littered across her body most notably on her stomach and face. In 854, Danielle hair is slightly longer and her eyes are much darker in color.

 **Titan form**

Danielle's Armoured Wolf Titan is 18 meters tall and has white plates of hardened skin covering the entirety of its body, except for muscles in its cheeks that become exposed when it opens its lipless jaw, as well as the muscle tissue behind its knees, elbows, and feet. Its eyes are covered by blue, organic lenses, and it has short, brown hair and brown wolf ear and a pair of black wings on its back that can be used as a shield. While fighting Eren in the forest of giant trees, it has been noted that it has high agility and is capable of moving at a fast momentum, despite its seemingly-heavy weight and being low on stamina.

 **PERSONALITY:**

As a child, Danielle was very loyal and driven. Out of all the warriors she has the hardest time trying to impress her parents as they were high ranking marleyans. Danielle's motivation came from the support that her best friends and her parents gave her. She wanted to earn the title of warrior without it seeming that she was chosen because of her heritage.

When Danielle inherited the Armoured Wolf Titan, her parents were so happy when in public but behind closed doors they regretted their decision because no parent wants to out live their children. They wanted Danielle to have a good and long life. Following Marcel's death, Danielle became a cold and heartless soldier, never failing to impress her superior officers. She made it her mission to protect Annie and Bertholdt from the devils on the island and she has been known to fight with Reiner a lot because of their differences.

After Killing Marco, Danielle decided that she needed the persona of an Eldian soldier. There appear to be few differences between her "soldier" persona and her true self, though her true "Warrior" self is more ruthless, sadistic and fatalistic out of necessity. However, her soldier persona was quickly dropped after she got tired of pretending to be someone she wasn't.

 **HISTORY** :

Danielle comes from the Liberio internment zone in Marley, which she refers to as her hometown. She was born to a Marleyan mother, Arya Redwolf and a Marleyan father, Theodore Magath. Growing up, Danielle hardly ever spent time with her parents as they are high ranking Marleyans. As a child, Danielle decided that she would become a Warrior candidate so she could spend more time with her parents and potentially honour her parents names by inheriting one of the Nine Titans.

As a warrior candidate, Danielle's skills were hard to match and she passed every class in tied first with another warrior and She expressed a strong loyalty to Marley. One day, she, along with Annie, Bertholdt, Porco and Marcel, learned from another Warrior candidate, Zeke, that in a few years, the operation to reclaim the Founding Titan would begin, and seven new Warrior candidates would be chosen to inherit the power of the Titans.

Danielle was chosen to inherit the Armoured Wolf Titan and alongside Zeke, Annie, Pieck, Bertholdt, Marcel and Reiner, the seven Titans crushed an entire nation, leading to them being regarded as a stronger group than their predecessors. At age 11, Danielle, Annie, Bertholdt, Reiner and Marcel were tasked with retaking the Founding Titan in Paradis Island.

Upon traveling to the island, the Warriors parted ways with the army at the border and began traveling by horseback under the cover of night. While resting, Danielle sat and watched as Reiner learned of Marcel being the reason he was chosen to inherit the Armored Titan. Danielle watched as Marcel was devoured and she was showered with the blood of her comrade and she was eventually dragged away by Annie.

After the loss of Marcel, Danielle, Annie and Bertholdt wanted to cancel the operation but Reiner opted against it as he claimed to know the consequences. This prompted Annie to attack him for his cowardice. Danielle had to restrain herself from attacking Reiner after Annie was finished with him.

After getting beaten up, Reiner tackled her and declared his resolve to become the leader as Bertholdt agreed to continue the operation. However, after remembering Danielle's appointment of Leader by Commander Magath, Reiner eventually gave up his resolve. After Bertholdt Breaches Wall Maria, Danielle, Bertholdt and Annie are left on top of the Wall, and Reiner proceeds to enter Shiganshina on his own. After the attack, Danielle and her allies enter a refugee camp inside Wall Rose.

While with the refugees, the four meet a man from a small village in the southeast of Wall Maria that was destroyed by the Titans. The man is later found having apparently killed himself, and the four decide to co-opt his story as their own.

During the two following years, Annie discovers that King Fritz is a figurehead and that they will still have to find the true royal family. In order to get closer to the royal family, Reiner and Danielle decide that they will become soldiers and get close to the Interior Military Police.

 **Phobias: Atychiphobia - The fear of failure:**

Danielle has always been afraid of disappointing her parents. So much that she developed a fear of failure from a young age.

 **Traits:**

Daring

Selfish

Jealous

Coarse

Ruthless

Violent

 **Positive qualities:**

Courage, Loyal, Strong, Assertive, Confident, Determined and Drive

 **Negative qualities:**

Impatience, Selfishness, Pride, Ruthlessness, Possessiveness and Violence

 **Relationships:**

 **Annie Leonhardt** :

Danielle and Annie have been best friends since they were tiny kids just learning to walk. Danielle's cold and heartless demeanor tends to falter whenever Annie is around and if Annie is ever threatened then Danielle will do anything to protect her and vice versa.

 **Bertholdt Hoover:**

Bertholdt is the second person that Danielle trusts the most. Bertholdt has been best friends with Danielle and Annie since both girls saved him from a bunch of bullies. Bertholdt has always been loyal to them and where they go, he follows.

 **Reiner Braun:**

Danielle and Reiner don't see eye to eye on almost everything. Their rivalry began when Danielle met Reiner when they were training to be Marley warriors and her hate for him only increased after Marcel died.

 **Porco Galliard:**

Porco is another one of Danielle's best friends and like Annie and Bertholdt, Porco grew up with Danielle. They share a strong hate for Reiner. Danielle considers Porco as the brother she never had.

 **Marcel Galliard:**

Marcel is another one of Danielle's best friends and like Annie, Porco and Bertholdt, Marcel grew up with Danielle. After his death, Danielle promised herself to never get attached to anyone. Danielle also sees Marcel as her brother.

 **Zeke Yeager and Pieck:**

Zeke trained Danielle while she was a warrior candidate and Pieck became friends with her through Danielle's parents.

 **Eren Yeager:**

During their time in training, Danielle and Eren developed a mutual respect and interest for each other. Although she never sided with him in any fights and never took a romantic interest in him, Eren pursued her anyway.

 **Armin Arlert:**

Danielle has a deep respect for Armin and they often studied for classes together when Annie was busy training with Eren.

 **Mikasa Ackerman:**

Danielle's interactions with Mikasa suggest some level of rivalry. Danielle's loathing for Mikasa only worsens when Annie's true identity is revealed, with Mikasa aggressively confronting her and later aiding in Annie's defeat. Mikasa holds some respect for Danielle even after her true identity is revealed to the Survey Corps. It is said that Mikasa even developed a crush on the girl.

 **Hitch Dreyse:**

Danielle has met Hitch on many occasions but has never taken an interest.

 **Marco Bodt:**

During the struggle for Trost, Danielle is seen keeping a look out while Annie is seen removing Marco's omni-directional mobility gear while someone else is restraining him. Marco pleads with Danielle to help him.

When she refuses and begs Annie to work faster, Marco asks her why she is doing it to which Danielle doesn't respond. He is then seen being eaten by a Titan as Reiner, Bertholdt, Danielle and Annie watch in horror. Danielle is traumatized by his death and can be seen apologizing to Marco's ashes after the struggle for Trost.

 **Mina Carolina:**

Danielle and Mina bonded really quickly when Annie introduced them. Danielle was saddened by Mina's death and can be seen cradling her body and crying when they finally find her.

 **Sasha Blouse, Connie Springer and Jean Kirschtein:**

Sasha, Connie and Jean are also friends of Danielle and they feel the most betrayed after Danielle's true identity is revealed to the Survey Corps but they still consider her a friend afterwards. They were also the only people who were in denial about Danielle and Annie's betrayal.


	24. Chapter 24

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 23 – The 57** **th** **Expedition Part 2**

Danielle's PoV

I Ride Next To Christa and I Ask, "So You and Ymir, Huh?" She Looks At Me and Asks, "What About Me and Ymir?" I Smirk, and I Say, "I See The Way You Look At Her and I See The Way She Looks At You. You Two Are A Thing, Aren't You?" Christa Blushes and Answers, "Yeah" I Smile, and I Say, "Congratulations" She Smiles and We Continue Riding.

After A Few Minutes, I See A Flare and I Say, "Hey! Let's Go Check It Out!" Christa Nods and We Begin Riding Towards Them. I See Reiner, Armin and Jean and Christa Yells, "You Guys!" I Ride Ahead Of Her and I Jump Off My Horse and Armin Yells, "Danielle!" I Pull My Three Friends Into A Hug and Jean Asks, "But How?! You Were On The Right Flank! In The Vanguard Right?!"

I Nod and Say, "When I Heard The Titans Coming, I Flanked Around The Right Of The Formation and Came Up From Behind, Where I Met Up With Christa and Then We Came Here" Christa Stops Near Us and I Walk Over To My Horse and I Mount Up and Christa Says, "Hurry Up and Get On, The Right Flank Is In Trouble" Jean Nods and Answers, "Yeah We Know! This Is Just What We Needed" Jean Walks Up To His Horse and He Gasps, "Hey, This Is My Own Horse!" Christa Nods and Answers, "Poor Thing Was So Scared, She Ran All The Way Over To Me…. Were You Fighting A Titan?" She Turns To Look At Armin and Asks, "Armin! What Happened To You? Are You Okay?" He Nods and Answers, "Yes, I'll Manage" Reiner Smiles and Says, "I'm Glad You Two Went Out Of Your Way To Check Out Our Flare" Christa Smiles and Answers, "Well, We Were In The Area Anyway and I Have Jean's Horse With Me So…." Reiner Smiles At Her and He Replies, "It Seems You Have An Affinity With Horses, Not To Mention Rare Selflessness. You Saved Our Lives" Christa Looks At Him and Answers, "I'm Just Relieved. I'm So Happy That The Worst Didn't Happen To Any Of You"

I See The Three Males Looking At Christa With Love In Their Eyes and I Ride Up Behind Reiner and I Hit Him On The Back Of The Head and I Hiss, "She's Gay and Taken" As I Ride By. I Catch Up To Christa and She Answers, "We'd Better Hurry Back Into Formation" I Nod, and I Say, "I'm Going To Find Mikasa. Take Care Of These Idiots and If They Try Anything With You, They Won't Just Have Ymir To Deal With" Christa Smiles and Answers, "Be Careful, Danielle" I Pull Her Into A Side Hug and I Say, "You Too" and I Ride Off.

 **Time Skip**

I Ride Through The Trees and I Hear A Loud Scream. My Horse Rears and I Think _'Annie'_ I Hold My Horse Still and I Hear The Thudding Of Titans. I Watch As They Run Past and I Follow Them While Hiding In The Treeline.

Once I Reach The Scouts Trap, I See The Female Titan Being Devoured and I See Annie Escape In The Steam. I Breathe A Sigh Of Relief and I Follow Her.

I Catch Up To Her When She Lands On A Branch and I Say, "That Was A Risky Move" Annie Spins Around and I Say, "You Could Have Died Or Worse, They Could Have Seen You Escape" Annie Crosses Her Arms and Asks, "Where Were You?" I Lean On The Tree and I Say, "With Armin, Christa, Reiner and Jean. I Made Up The Excuse That I Was Going To Find Mikasa and I Came Here"

She Nods and I See The Blue Retreat Flares. I Smirk, and I Say, "Ready?" Annie Nods and I Put My Hood Up and She Fires Off Squad Levi's Purple Flare. I See One In Response and I Say, "Let's Go" Annie Nods and We Begin Gliding Towards Squad Levi.

After A Few Minutes I Hear The Squad and I Whisper, "Be Careful" Annie Nods and I Land On A Tree Branch and She Continues On. I Watch As She Spins Around and Kill Gunther and Then After A Few Minutes, She Stops Behind and Tree and Transforms. I Follow In The Treeline, Making Sure That I Can't Be Seen and I See Her Fighting Squad Levi.

I Dig My Blade In The Tree Closest To Me and I Watch As Annie Is Immobilized. I Get Ready To Transform When I Hear, "Eld!" and I Watch As Annie Spits Out The Now Dead Soldier and She Begins Running After Who I Assume Is Petra.

She Squishes Her Against A Tree and The Sound Of Petra's Back Snapping Rings Through The Trees. Oluo Goes For Annie Next and Shimmering Crystal Encases Her Nape and His Blades Shatter. Annie Jumps Up, Kicks Him and Sends Him Flying Into Multiple Trees.

She Lands On The Ground In A Crouching Position and I Hear Lighting Strike and The Roar Of Eren's Titan. I Take That As My Cue and I Bite My Hand and I Transform Into My 18 Meter Titan.

I Walk Out Of The Trees, Holding A Sword In My Hand and I See Eren's Eyes Dart Between Me and Annie. I Spin It In My Hand and He Runs Towards Annie. I Move In Front Of Her and Eren Swings At Me. I Bring My Wings Forward and They Block His Punch, The Feathers Shredding His Hand.

I Move The Wings and I Kick Eren Back and He Goes Flying Into A Tree. I Look At Annie Who Is Currently Healing and I Send Her A Nod. She Nods and I Hold Up The Sword and I Breathe Fire Onto It.

Eren Stares At It Wide Eyed and I Run Towards Him and He Stands Up and I Swing The Sword and It Catches His Leg. His Titan Drops Onto One Knee and I Slam The Sword Into His Knee So Hard That It Pins His Foot To The Floor.

I Break His Other Knee and His Arms and Then I Grab Him By The Back Of The Head and I Punch Him Several Times In The Face. The Smell Of Burning Flesh Hits My Nose and I Remove The Sword and I Back Away From Eren So He Can Get His Bearings.

His Knee and Arms Heal First But It Takes A While Longer For His Leg To Heal. I Throw The Sword Down and I Get Into My Stance and Eren Does The Same. I Notice His Hand Heal and He Begins Throwing Punches.

I Grab His Fists In My Hands and I Push Backwards, Digging My Feet Into The Earth and Holding My Ground. I Don't Faulter As Annie Walks Around Me, Unnoticed By Eren Who Is Purely Focused On Defeating Me and Annie Delivers A Swift Kick To His Titan's Spine. Eren's Titan Lets Out A Roar Of Defiance As His Legs Begin To Give Way and With A Burst Of Strength, He Sends Me Into A Tree. I Make My Sword Again and I Dig It Into The Ground and It Stops Me.

I Stand Up and I Watch In Amusement As Eren Punches The Floor Twice. He Begins Roaring In Annie's Face So I Walk Up Behind Him and I Grab His Titan By The Face and I Squeeze, Popping His Eyes and Dislocating His Jaw.

I Grab Him By The Hair and I Send Him Flying Towards A Tree. I Help Annie Up and Her Body Heals and We Stand There, Waiting For Eren To Heal. A Few Minutes Later, The Anger Driven Titan Comes Sprinting Towards Us and He Pushes Me Out Of The Way and Engages In A Fist Fight With Annie.

I Watch As Annie Dodges Every Punch Thrown At Her and When Eren Gets Close Enough, She Crystalizes Her Fist and Drives It Through His Jaw, Sending It Clean Off and Knocking Out A Few Teeth.

My Eyes Widen When He Drags His Upper Teeth Along Her Arm and Then Swings His Fist Into Her Gut. The Force Sends Her Flying Upwards and Into A Tree. Eren Turns His Focus To Me and I Hold My Arm Out and I Make A 'Come At Me' Gesture and Eren Runs At Me With A Roar.

I Dodge His Punches and I Swing My Wings Around and They Cut His Hands Off. He Kicks Me In The Gut and The Force Sends Me Skidding Backwards and I Dig My Sword In The Ground and Eren Runs Back Towards Annie.

He Runs Into A Tree and Annie Dives Out Of The Way. Eren Leans Against The Tree As He Tries To Get His Stamina Back and I See Annie Spin Around To Face Him. She Gets Into Her Stance. Eren Turns To Face Her and He Holds His Fist Up and Stops. His Hesitance Gives Annie The Time She Needs To Lift Her Leg Up and Spin Around. The Top Of Eren's Head Flies Off and The Tree Crashes To The Forest Floor.

Eren's Body Slumps To The Floor and Annie Walks Over To It. I Watch As She Opens Her Jaw As Wide As It Will Go and She Bites Down In The Nape and Rips. Eren's Dazed Body Comes Into View and Annie Bites Down On The Flesh Surrounding The Boy and She Swallows Him.

I Move Over To Her and I Hear A Scream Of, "Eren!" I Turn My Head and I See Mikasa. My Eyes Widen and Annie, While Looking Mikasa Directly In The Eyes, Wipes The Blood Off Her Mouth As If Daring Her To Come After Us and She Runs Off.

I Follow Her, Leaving My Friend Behind and I Hear, "Wait…. Eren… Don't Go" I Clench My Eyes Closed and I Continue Walking Away. Annie Breaks Out Into A Slow Jog and I Hear The Whizzing Of ODM Gear.

I Turn My Head and I See Mikasa Chasing Us. She Dives Past Me and Drags Her Blades Through The Back Of Annie's Leg. Annie Falls To Her Knees and Mikasa Yells, "Give Him Back! You Bastards, Give Him Back!" I Stand Protectively Over Annie and Mikasa Dives Down Towards Annie's Nape and Tries To Drag Her Blades Through When A Loud Clashing Noise Can Be Heard. Mikasa Digs Her Broken Blade Into A Tree and She Asks, "Why? My Blade… Won't Go Through" Her Eyes Focus On Annie's Mouth and She Growls, "I Know He's Alive!" She Drops The Broken Blades and Equips New Ones and She Yells, "Eren Has To Be Alive. No Matter Where She Goes, I'll Kill Her, Slice Her Up and Drag You Out Of That Filthy Place! I'm Sorry, Eren. Just Hold On A Little Longer!" Annie Swings Her Fist At Mikasa and Then Sprints Off.

I Look Down At Mikasa Who Yells, "Wait!" As She Watches Annie Run Off. I Am Quick To Decide My Side As I Take Off and Follow Annie, Leaving A Huge Dust Cloud In My Wake. I Turn My Head As I Run, and I See Mikasa and Captain Levi Following Us and I Think, _'Shit! Now Their Both Here! This Is Bad, Really Bad!'_

Levi's PoV

I Glide Behind The Female Titan and What Seems Like A Variant Of The Armoured Titan and I Ask, "Looks Like She Bit The Whole Neck Of Eren's Titan Body. Is He Dead?" Mikasa Glares At Me and Shakes Her Head and She Answers, "Eren's Alive. I Think Our Target Is Intelligent. Her Objective Is To Kidnap Eren. If She Wanted To Kill Him, She Could've Just Crushed Him But Instead, She Put Him In Her Mouth, and She's Making A Fighting Retreat"

I Hum and Say, "The Objective May Have Been To Eat Eren. In That Case, Eren Would Be In Her Stomach Now, Probably Dead" Mikasa Growls In Response and She Snarls, "He's Alive" I Look At Her and I Say, "I Hope You're Right" Mikasa Glares At Me Again and Growls, "This Wouldn't Have Happened In The First Place If You'd Done A Good Job Protecting Eren" I Look At Her and I Say, "I Remember You From Court, Eren's Friend, Right?" Mikasa Seems A Bit Hurt By The Word Friend But She Nods, and I Hum, "I See" I Turn Back Around and I Continue, "We'll Focus On One Objective. First, Give Up On Killing The Female Titan" Mikasa Looks At Me and Protests, "How Many Of Our Comrades Has She Murdered?" I Sigh and State, "As Long As That Titan Has The Ability To Harden It's Skin, Killing It Is Impossible"

Mikasa Grunts and Answers, "That Armoured Variant Is Also A Problem. Its Protective Over The Female Titan. If We Want To Get Close To Her, We'll Have To Kill That One First" I Shake My Head and Answer, "No. We Just Need To Immobilize It. That Titan Has Weak Spots Everywhere, You Just Have To Know Where To Hit. We'll Bet Everything On The Chance That Eren Is Still Alive and We'll Rescue Him Before These Things Can Leave The Forest. I'll Slash Away At The Titans. You Draw Their Attention" Mikasa Nods and She Darts Forward.

Danielle's PoV

I Raise A Brow and I Hear ODM Gear. I Turn My Head and I Swing My Fist At Levi and He Rolls Up My Arm and He Takes Out My Eyes. I Cover My Nape Just In Case and He Spins Around My Body, Taking Out My Weak Spots Left and Right and I Drop To The Floor Unable To Move.

After A Few Minutes, I Hear Annie Drop To The Floor and A Yell Of, "No!" and A The Sound Of Blood and Steam Makes Me Realize That Levi and Mikasa Have Succeeded In Taking Eren Back. The Whizzing Of ODM Gear Gets Farther and Farther Away and When I Know That I'm Safe, I Pull Myself Out Of The Nape Of My Titan and I Let Out A Few Deep Breaths As Exhaustion Takes Over My Form.

I Push Away My Fatigue and I Hook My ODM Gear Onto The Female Titan and I Climb Up To Her Nape and I Hear The Tearing Of Flesh and The Sound Of Steam and I See Annie Knelt Over In Her Titan's Nape, Covered In Flesh. I Walk Over To Her and I Wrap My Arms Around Her Waist and I Help Her Get Out.

Our Eyes Meet and I Ask, "Are You Alright?" She Sniffs and Nods Slowly. Tears Leak Out Of Her Eyes and I Say, "Hey Now. There's No Need For That. Annie, There Wasn't Anything That We Could Have Done. Levi and Mikasa Had Us Right Where They Wanted Us and We Couldn't Stop Them" Annie Looks Away and She Whimpers, "I Just Want To Go Home" I Kiss Her Head and I Say, "So Do I" I Help Her Up and I Whistle.

A Few Minutes Later, My Horse Comes Running and I Say, "Come On. I'll Take You Back To Stohess" Annie Shakes Her Head and Answers, "I'll Make My Way Back. You Need To Catch Up To The Others So Nobody Thinks That You Died" I Shake My Head and I Say, "Fuck 'Em. Your More Important Now" Annie Glares At Me and Snaps, "Go. Now" I Sigh and Say, "Fine. Just Be Careful On The Way Back" She Nods and I Pull Her Into A Kiss and When We Pull Away, I Climb On My Horse and Ride Towards The Others.

I Catch Up To The Survey Corps and I Hear, "Danielle! Where Have You Been?!" I Ride Next To Mikasa and I Say, "I Encountered An Abnormal Half Way To Meet Up With You. I Had To Fight It But My Horse Ran Away and I Didn't Get It Back Until A Few Minutes Ago" Mikasa Nods and We Ride Back To The Walls.

 **Time Skip**

After Arriving Back At The Karanes HQ and Listening In On Commander Erwin's Meeting With Captain Levi, Hanji, Eren, Mikasa and Armin, I Sneak Out When Everyone Has Gone To Bed and I Ride To Stohess District. Once I Get There, I Send My Horse Back To Karanes and I Walk Towards The MP HQ.

Making Sure I'm Really Quiet, I Walk Inside and Up To Annie's Room. I Hear The Shower Running and I Lean On The Wall Outside Her Dorm and After A Few Minutes, Annie Walks Out Of The Bathroom.

She Spots Me and Asks, "What Are You Doing Here?" I Pull Off My Hood and I Say, "I Was Eavesdropping On Commander Erwin's Meeting and Armin Has Figured Out Your Identity Which Means, When They Come To Stohess Tomorrow, You Could Be In Serious Danger" Annie Nods and Asks, "Have They Found You Out?"

I Shake My Head and I Say, "No. But They Will When I Fight With You Tomorrow If They Try and Capture You" My Eyes Dart Around and Annie Nods and Answers, "Alright. Come On" She Pushes Open The Door and I Pull Off Clothing and I Change Into A Pair Of Clothes That I Shoved Into My Backpack.

Annie Climbs Into Her Bed and I Follow. She Rests Her Head On My Chest and Murmurs, "I Love You" I Kiss Her Head and I Murmur, "I Love You Too" and After A Few Minutes, I Hear Annie's Calm and Adorable Snoring In My Ear.


	25. Chapter 25 (End Of Season 1)

**The Devils Inside – Chapter 24 – The Raid On Stohess District (End Of Season 1)**

Danielle's PoV

I Feel Annie Snuggle Further Into My Back and I Ask, "What Time Is It" Annie Shrugs and I Turn Over To Face Her and I Lean Up On My Elbow and I Run My Other Hand Through Her Bedridden Hair and I Say, "I'd Forgotten How Hot You Look With Bedridden Hair" Annie Shoves Me and Grumbles, "Shut Up" I Smile Tiredly and I Say, "I'd Also Forgotten That You're Not A Morning Person" I Lean Forward and I Kiss Her Nose With A Grin and I Say, "C'mon. Let's Hit The Showers"

Annie Climbs Out Of Bed and I Follow, Wrapping My Arm Around Her Waist, Peppering Her Neck With Little Kisses As I Brush Her Hair Out Of The Way With My Free Hand. Annie Sighs and Asks, "You're Being Overly Affectionate Today. What's Up?" I Sigh Against Her Skin and I Say, "I Have A Feeling That I'm Going To Lose You Today and I Don't Want To Let You Go"

Annie Turns Around In My Arms and Says, "You Won't. If Things Go South Today, Then…." I Nod In Understanding and I Say, "You'll Use The Crystal" Annie Nods and I Answer, "How Do I Know When I'll See You Again? I Don't Want To Lose You, Annie" She Pecks My Lips and Answers, "We'll Work It Out. We Always Do" I Nod and She Takes My Hand and Answers, "Let's Go" I Nod and I Follow Her Out Of The Bedroom and Towards The Showers.

After Taking A Shower, We Both Pull On Our Clothes and I Run A Hand Through My Wet Hair and I Follow Annie Out Of The Bedroom and Downstairs.

Hitch Looks Up and Says, "You're Finally Awake. Couldn't Bring Myself To Wake You Up…. That Face Of Yours Is Too Scary When You're Asleep. Sorry Annie" Hitch Finally Notices Me and She Lets Out A Whistle and Comments, "Well Hello There" I Grunt and I Tilt Annie's Head Up and I Press A Soft Kiss To Her Lips.

She Kisses Back With A Smirk On Her Face and When We Part, I Say, "See You Later Annie" She Kisses Me Again and Murmurs, "Bye Danielle" and I Pull Away From Her and I Stop At The End Of The Corridor To Send Her A Smile and Wink and Then I Walk Out.

Annie's PoV

I Listen As My Girlfriends Footsteps Fade Away and Hitch Gasps, "Damn Annie! You Scored? A Survey Corps Chick Too!" I Roll My Eyes and I Stand In Line and Marlo Comments, "You've Been Slacking Off Lately " I Stand Against The Wall and Hitch Looks At Me and Giggles, "Huh? Aww, Are You Mad? C'mon"

I Resist The Urge To Punch Her In Her Annoying Mouth and Marlo Huffs, "Talk About Cold" Boris Sighs and Answers, "Leave Her Alone. Annie Came From Trost, You Know. She's The Only One Here With Actual Combat Experience. She's Just Back From Seeing Hell. No One Gets Over That Right Away"

Hitch Giggles and Asks, "Oh? So, You Like Her Already? What Could You See In A Girl Like That?" I Resist The Urge To Growl and Boris States, "Hitch… There's Only One Way A Girl As Dumb As You Could Have Gotten Into The Military Police Brigade. Oh, and I Think Annie Is Taken and I'm Not About To Fuck Up A Relationship That Makes Her Happy Because You Feel Like Playing Match Maker"

Hitch Laughs and Answers, "Makes Her Happy?! You Have The Wrong Pers-" I Cut Her Off Before She Can Continue By Grabbing Her By The Collar Of Her Jacket and I Snarl, "Shut Your Fucking Mouth Before I Shut It For You. I Have A Girlfriend So If You Fucking Dare Try To Match Me Up With Any Of These Brainless Fucking Idiots, People Won't Recognize You When I'm Done. Do You Understand Me?"

Hitch Nods With A Whimper and I Stand Back In Line and Hitch Is About To Say Something When Marlo Snaps, "Knock It Off! He's Here!" Our Superior Officer Walks Down The Stairs and We All Salute.

He Sighs and Grunts, "I Told You. No Salutes" I Put My Hands Down and I Slump Against The Wall With A Bored Expression On My Face and He Continues, "Today, You're Going To Be Doing Something A Little Different From Your Normal Chores. That's Why I Called You Here. Listen Up, This Concerns The Summons Of A Survey Corps Party To The Royal Capital"

I Perk Up At This and I Think, _'Is That Why Danielle Came Here? Or Did She Seriously Come To Protect Me From Them?'_ Our Superior Continues, "I Don't Need To Tell You How Far The Survey Corps Has Fallen, Do I? Well, They'll Be Going Down Centre Street In Town Today and It's The Military Police's Job To Escort Them Just While They're Passing Through Town. You'll Be Given Temporary Permission To Use Your Manoeuvring Equipment Inside The City. Follow Alongside Their Convoy and Reinforce Their Security. That's All" Marlo Pipes Up and He Asks, "May I Ask A Question?" The Superior Looks At Him and Answers, "You Just Did But Go Head" Marlowe Looks At Him and Asks, "What Will We Be Guarding The Convoy Against?"

The Superior Shrugs and Answers, "Beats Me" Marlowe Gulps and Continues, "I've Never Heard Of Anyone Inside This Wall Opposing The Crown. Sure, There Are Petty Criminals, But I Can't Imagine There Are Any Organized Groups. At Least Not Unless They're Based Outside The Walls." I Roll My Eyes and The Superior Hums and Answers, "You Seem Reliable. I'll Leave This To You. The Details Are In Here"

Marlowe Looks At Him and Asks, "What?" The Superior Opens The Door Opposite Us and He Replies, "We Officers Are Busy. Try To Handle It On Your Own. Just Don't Botch It, Okay?" and He Slams The Door Closed. I Sigh and I Push Away From The Wall and After I Get My Gear, I Walk Outside Into The Courtyard and The Others Follow.

I Lean On A Wall and I Hear, "Damn It." I Look Over At Hitch, Marlowe and Boris and Marlowe Growls, "What A Joke. Handing Command Off To A Rookie With Less Than A Month In The Brigade" Hitch Looks Down and She Answers, "Yeah, This Place Is Even More Rotten Than I Thought It'd Be. Of Course, That's Why I Chose It" She Kicks A Bucket and Continues, "But I Guess You Get Everyone's Work Shoved Off On You When You're A Rookie. Sheesh, Wish Someone Had Told Me!" I Roll My Eyes and I Hear, "If I'm Not Mistaken, Hitch. Didn't You Do The Same Thing To Annie?" I Look Up and I See Danielle Sat On The Wall Surrounding The Stohess HQ.

She Jumps Off and Marlowe Asks, "What Are You Doing Here? This Area Is For MPs Only" She Smirks and Replies, "Calm Down, Bowl-Cut. I'm Not Here To See You." Her Eyes Lock Onto Me and She Walks Over and Pecks My Lips and She Says, "Hey" I Look Up At Her and I Raise A Brow.

She Throws Me An Apple From Behind Her Back and I Catch It and She Bites Into The One In Her Other Hand and She Continues, "I'm Off Duty Today. Strictly Speaking I'm Not Supposed To Be Here. I'm Supposed To Be In Wall Rose With The Rest Of The Recruits But I'm Not Sitting Around There When I Could Be Here With My Girlfriend" Boris Rolls His Eyes and Marlowe Growls, "Get Out Of Here Or I'll Report You" Danielle Crosses Her Arms and She Answers, "You're Superiors Know I'm Here So Calm The Fuck Down"

Danielle's PoV

Marlowe Rolls His Eyes and He Turns Back To Hitch and They Continue Their Conversation. I Lean On The Wall and Annie Asks, "Really Love. What Are You Doing Here?" I Look Down At Her and Answer, "Keeping An Eye On You. I'm Not Letting You Walk Around Alone Knowing That The Survey Corps Are Going To Be Here" Annie Is About To Reply When I Hear, "I Came Here To Clean Up The Military Police Brigade" I Look Up and Hitch Laughs, "Wow, Marlowe! You're One Of Those Guys?" Boris Raises A Brow and Asks, "and How Are You Going To Do That?" Marlowe Crosses His Arms and Answers, "By Being At The Top and Until I Get There, I Don't Care If I Have To Act Worthless. I'll Do Anything It Takes But Once I Do, Everyone's Going To Have To Work For Every Cent Of Their Pay and Anyone Who Pocketed The People's Taxes Or Stole Their Land Will Get What's Coming To Them"

Annie Pipes Up and Asks, "Do You Think That Because Something Awful Like That Happened To You Or Your Relatives?" Marlowe Shakes His Head and Answers, "Not Really But It's Common Knowledge That This Evil Is Everywhere, Isn't It? Anyway, I'm Not Saying They Should Die But I'll Make Them Feel Shame. They'll Learn That A Man Without Reason Is No Different From An Animal Who Defecated Wherever It Pleases. I'm Just Going To Return Them To Being Normal Humans, That's All. The Way Man Is Meant To Be"

I Look At Him and Hitch Laughs, "Holy Crap! You Are The Real Thing! Now I Feel Bad For Thinking You Were Just Another Regular Boring Guy!" Boris Chuckles and Answers, "That's An Admirable Goal. I Hope You Work Hard To Accomplish It" Annie Pipes Up and Asks, "Is It Really?" Marlowe Looks At Her and Annie Continues, "I Think That When "Good People" Like You Manage To Take Control, That's When It's All Over" Marlowe Hums and Answers, "Oh, So You Can Talk After All. Why Don't You Keep Going Them, If You Have Something To Say" Annie Sighs and Continues, "I Think, You're An Upright Person. What You Say Is Right. I Know That People Like You Exist. Going Against The Flow Takes A Lot Of Courage. I Respect That. Maybe People Who Can Do It Are Just Stupid But… Well, What I'm Sure Of Is That People Like That Are Rare. So, You Can't Call Them Common and You Can't Call Them Normal, Either. People Like You Get Called Special. So, What Should We Call People Like Us Then? People Who Put Their Own Interests Ahead Of Others? People Who Go Along With It When They See Injustice? What Did You Call Them? "Worthless" Or "Evil". From What I Saw Of The Training Corps, It Was Mostly Made Up Of Worthless, Evil People Who Wanted To Be In The Military Police"

Marlowe Looks At Her and Asks, "Stop Beating Around The Bush. You're Just Trying To Say That You Guys Aren't Really That Bad, Right?" Annie Shakes Her Head and Answers, "No. I Do Think We're Worthless and We're Definitely Evil. You Certainly Can't Call Us Upright, But Doesn't That Just Make Us Regular People? If People Were Essentially Good Like You Say, Then This Organization Wouldn't Be As Rotten As It Is, Would It? It's Just Structured So That It Reflects Human Nature, That's All. So Even If I'm The Kind Of Weak Person Who Just Wants To Get Swept Along With The Flow, I Just Want You To Think Of Me As Human. That's All"

Hitch Looks At Her and Groans, ""That's All"? You Talk Too Much and You're Boring" Boris Chuckles and Answers, "It's Like They Say, When The Quiet Ones Finally Get Started…" Someone Else Chuckles and Replies, "That's Her, Alright" I Chuckle, and I Pull Annie Into A Side Hug and I Praise, "That's My Girl!" I Press A Kiss To Her Forehead and Marlowe Checks His Pocket Watch and Commands, "We Talked For Too Long. We're Heading Out!" Everyone Complains But Obeys and Marlowe States, "I'm To Messing Around! I'm Going To Handle Every Mission Perfectly, Starting With This One!" I Sigh, and I Say, "That's My Cue. I'll Be Around, Alright?" Annie Nods and I Pull Her Into A Kiss and She Kisses Back. After A Few Minutes, I Pull Away and I Vault Over The Wall and She Walks Away.

I Stand On A Roof and I Hear, "Armin" I Look Down Into The Alley Way and I See Annie and Armin. I Raise A Brow and Armin Answers, "Hey. Already A Full-Fledged MP, I See" Annie Raises A Brow and Asks, "What's The Matter? What Are You Wearing?" Armin Answers, "It's A Porter Outfit. The Rain Gear Is To Hide My Manoeuvring Equipment. See?" He Lifts Up His Jacket and Annie Asks, "Armin? What's Wrong?"

Armin Removes His Hood and Asks, "Annie, Can You Come With Us and Help Eren Escape?" She Raises A Brow and Asks, "Escape? To Where? After Ignoring A Royal Command Inside The City Walls, Where Will He Run?" Armin Replies, "We're Just Going To Hide Him Temporarily. We Don't Intend To Defy The Monarchy Openly. I Know It Looks Like An Act Of Insubordination By Part Of The Survey Corps But We're Buying Some Time To Gather The Materials We Need To Change The Council's Opinion. I Promise!" Annie Looks At Him and Questions, "Change Their Opinion? You Have Something That Convenient? What's Your Proof?"

Armin Hesitates and He Looks Down and Answers, "I'm Sorry. I Can't Tell You" Annie Sighs and Answers, "I Feel For You, But This Isn't Worth Talking About" She Turns Around and Continues, "I Won't Tell Anyone. Do Your Best On Your Own." As She Walks Away Armin Pleads, "Annie! Please! At This Rate, Eren Will Be Killed!" Annie Stops and I Growl But Continue To Listen Intently.

Armin Continues, "These Guys Are Trying To Save Themselves, But Without Knowing It, They're Heading Down A Path That's Going To Doom Humanity! I Know What I'm Saying Isn't Convincing But Still, All That's Left To Me Is One Big Gamble. I'll Do What I Can To Keep From Getting You In Trouble, But I Need The Help Of Someone In The Military Police Brigade In Order To Pass Through Wall Sheena's Checkpoints. This Is My Only Option"

Annie Looks At Him and Asks, "Do I Really Look Like Such A Good Person To You?" Armin Looks Down and Asks, "A Good Person?" He Thinks and Continues, "I Don't Really Like That Phrase. I Mean, That's Just What You Call Someone Who Acts In A Way That's Beneficial To You. I Don't Think Anyone Can Act In A Way That Benefits Everyone. Even If You're Being Helpful To One Person, You Might Still Be A "Bad Person" To Someone Else. So, If You're Not Going To Go Along With This Plan, That Would Make You A Bad Person To Me"

Annie Sighs and Answers, "Fine. I'm In" She Puts Her Ring On and Armin Tells Her Where To Meet and She Walks Off. I Drop Down Behind Armin and I Say, "She's Not Stupid. She Knows That Somethings Up." Armin Spins Around and He Gasps, "Danielle?! What Are You Doing Here?!" I Look At Him and I Say, "I Heard You Lot Last Night. Heard You Talking About What You Were Going To Do Today" Armin Gulps and Stammers, "I-Im Sorry We Didn't Tell You…." I Grab Him By The Cape and I Pin Him Against The Wall and I Growl, "If You Fucking Hurt Her, I Swear To God, Arlert" I See Hurt Flash Through His Eyes and I Pull Away From Him and I Run Off.

I Follow Behind Annie, On A Roof and I Hear, "Getting Away Was Easier Than I Thought" Mikasa Shushes Him and Eren Continues, "I Was In The Carriage The Whole Time, But They Didn't Check On Me At All-" Mikasa Cuts Him Off and Murmurs, "Stop Looking Around So Much" Eren Doesn't Listen and He Continues, "It Give You A Good Idea Of How Seriously The Great Military Police Takes It's Job. Now We Just Have To Hope They Don't Find Out That Jean's Standing In For Me, But I Don't Think It'll Take Long. I Mean, He and I Look Nothing Alike." Armin Looks At Him and Answers, "Don't Worry! You Have Similar Builds, and Terrifying Glares. Like Villains"

I Roll My Eyes and Annie Asks, "So If I Hadn't Helped You , How Were You Planning To Get Past The Wall?" Armin Looks At Her and Answers, "We Were Going To Break Through Using Our Manoeuvring Equipment" Annie Scoffs and Asks, "That Seems Absurd. Wouldn't It Have Been A Lot Less Trouble To Escape Before Entering Stohess District? Why Here and Now?" Armin Answers, "I Thought That The Switch With The Body Double Wouldn't Work Without Terrain As Complex As The City's. Acting Obedient For A Bit To Where Down Their Suspicions Then Slipping Away Seemed Like It'd Buy Is More Time That Openly Trying To Run"

Annie Nods As If Believing His Lies and She Answers, "Oh. Alright Then" I Jump Across To The Underground's Roof and Armin Says, "Ah! Here It Is!" Annie Raises A Brow and Asks, "Here?" Armin Nods and Answers, "Yeah. We're Going Through Here. These Are The Ruins Of A Planned Underground City. They Lead All The Way To A Spot Near The Outer Door"

The Trio Begin Walking Downstairs and Armin Turns Around When Annie Doesn't Move and He Asks, "Annie?" Eren Pipes Up and Asks, "What's The Matter With You? Don't Tell Me That You're Afraid Of Narrow, Dark Places?" Annie Nods and Answers, "I Am. I'm Scared… I Doubt A Brave, Suicidal Blockhead Like You Could Ever Understand The Feelings Of A Feeble Maiden Like Me"

Eren Scoffs and Snaps, "There's Nothing Feeble About A Maiden Who Can Flip A Huge Man 360 Degrees Through The Air. Stop Being Stupid, We Need To Hurry!" Annie Shakes Her Head and Answers, "I'm Scared Of That Way. We Go Above Ground, Or I Won't Help"

Eren Growls and Yells, "What The Hell Are You Talking About?! Hurry Up and Get Down Here! Stop Messing Around!" Mikasa Shushes Him and She Snaps, "Eren! Don't Yell!" Annie Raises A Brow and Asks, "Why Shouldn't He, Mikasa? I'm Not Sure Why, But I Haven't Seen A Single Person Around Us For A While Now"

Annie Looks Down and Says, "Sheesh, Armin. That Really Hurts. When Was It That You Started Looking At Me Like That?" Armin Looks Up At Her and He Asks, "Annie? Why? Why Did You Have Marco's Vertical Manoeuvring Gear? He Fixed Even The Smallest Scratches and Dents and I Remembered Doing It With Him So I Could Tell" Annie Shrugs and Replies, "Oh… I Just Found It"

Armin Looks At Her and He Asks, "So, Those Two Titans That Were Captured…. You Killed Them?" I Jump Off The Roof and I Land Behind Annie and She Answers, "Maybe But If You Thought That A Month Ago, Why Didn't You Do Anything Then?" Armin Gulps and He Says, "Even Now, I Can't Believe It. Maybe I Made A Mistake Somewhere. I Want To Think I Did. That's Why I…. But What About You Annie? It's Because You Didn't Kill Me Then, That All Of This Is Happening Now…"

Annie Nods and Answers, "Yeah. I Wondered About That, Deep Down. I Never Imagined You'd End Up Cornering Me Like This. Still… Why Didn't I Do That Then? Because I Didn't Want To Upset Danielle. She Cares Deeply For You Armin, That's Just The Way She Is If You Dig Around In That Deep, Dark Exterior."

Mikasa Growls and Answers, "You Mean The Person You're Leading On? She Doesn't Know Anything About This Does She?!" Annie Shrugs and Answers, "I Don't Know…"

Eren Pipes Up and He Yells, "Listen Annie! There's Still A Chance That You're Just An Idiot With Bad Timing Who's Playing Along As Part Of Some Dumb Joke! Anyway, Just Get Over Here! You Can Prove This To Us Just By Coming Under Ground! Get In Here and Give Us Proof!"

Annie Shakes Her Head and Answers, "I Can't Go Down There. I Couldn't Become A Solider" Eren Looks Up At Her Desperately and He Yells, "I Thought I Told You! Enough With The Dumb Jokes!" Armin Looks Up At Her and Yells, "Talk To Us Annie! We Can Still Talk This Over!"

Mikasa Walks Forward and Growls, "Enough. I Can't Listen To Any More. It's Pointless. I'll Slice You To Shreds All Over Again, Female Titan!"

Annie Grins Darkly and She Asks, "Did You Really Think That I Would Be Here Without Back Up?" I Jump Down Behind Annie and I Wrap My Arms Around Annie's Waist and I Nuzzle Her Neck With A Smirk On My Face and Eren Gasps, "No! You're Lying! Danielle Isn't A Traitor!"

I See Hurt Pass Through My Friends Eyes and I Say, "Tell Me Eren. When You Fought Annie In The Forest…. Who Did You Think The Second Titan Was?" Eren Looks Up At Me With Tears Pooling In His Eyes and Mikasa Yells, "It Trusted You!" I Look At Her and I Say, "I'm Sorry Mikasa…. I Really Am But I Can't Let You Hurt Her"

Annie Lifts Her Hand Up and She Growls, "Armin… I Guess You Were Lucky That I Was A Good Person To You. It Looks Like Your Gamble Paid Off For Now But This Is Where Ours Begins" Armin Fires A Sound Grenade and We Both Get Grabbed.

I Struggle and I Get Pulled Away From Annie and Gagged. I Struggle Harder and Annie Cuts Her Thumb and Lighting Hits Both Of Us. Annie Reaches Down The Tunnel For Eren But Comes Up Empty Handed.

The Armour Moves From My Mouth and I Let Out Steam. I Hear Them Yelling Below Us and Annie Stomps Through The Floor, Crushing The Team Below. Annie Looks Up At Me and I Nod. I See Mikasa and Armin Come Out From Either Side and Then I Hear A Lightning Strike. Annie Turns Around and She Gets Punches, Sending Her Flying Into The Church Of The Walls.

I Turn To Eren and He Punches Me, Unlike Annie, The Punch Has No Affect On Me So I Punch Him and It Sends Him Flying Back Wards. I Make My Way Towards Annie Who Is Stood Up and I Materialise My Sword and I Stand Next To Her. I Tap Her Shoulder and I Nod Towards The Wall and We Begin Sprinting Towards It.

I Hear The Whizzing Of ODM Gear and I See Mikasa Fly Away From Annie's Face With Blood Spilling Around Her In A Circle As I Flies From Her Blades. I Hear Eren's Growls and I Begin Sprinting Faster, Which Causes Annie To Up Her Pace.

His Growls Get Louder As He Runs Behind Us and Annie Grabs Onto A Building To Stop Herself and I Skid To A Stop At Her Side With My Sword At The Ready. Eren Gets On His Hands and Knees and He Roars At Us.

Annie Gets Into Her Stance and I Get Into Mine and Eren Swings First. I Manage To Sever His Arm and Annie Severs His Leg and He Jumps Up and Punches Annie In The Face. I Watch The Scene In Front Of Me and Annie Crystalizes Her Ankle and She Sends Eren Crashing Into A Building.

He Bites Down On Her Leg and She Punches Him In The Head Until He Lets Go. Annie Hardens Her Fingers When He Lets Go and She Runs Off. I Follow, Dropping My Sword In The Process and She Begins Climbing Up The Wall.

I Follow Closely Behind and I Hear The Whizzing Of ODM Gear. I Turn My Head and I See Mikasa. My Eyes Widen and She Severs Annie's Fingers and I Grab Annie's Wrist Before It Drops To Her Side.

Mikasa Severs Her Other Fingers But I Keep A Firm Grip On Annie's Wrist. I Look Up At The Wall and Then Back Down At Annie and I See Her Eyes Pleading With Me To Let Her Go. I Shake My Head and Mikasa Hooks Onto My Face and She Yells, "Danielle! I Know You Can Hear Me! Give Yourself Up and I'll Fight For You! Please!" I Shake My Head and She Pleads, "Danielle, Please! You Will Both Fall If You Don't Let Her Go" The Part Of The Wall That I'm Holding Onto Falls and Annie and I Both Drop To The Floor Like Rocks.

My Armour Shatters and I Am Cut Out Of The Nape Of My Titan. I Am Dragged Away From The Body Of My Titan and I Hear, "Stop Struggling Danielle! Please!" I Look Up At The Voice and I Breathe, "Jean?" He Nods, and I Am Leant Against The Wall and I Watch The Scene Before Me.

My Eyes Water and Mikasa Runs Over and She Crouches Beside Me and Asks, "Are You Hurt?" I Push Her Away and I Snap, "Get The Fuck Away From Me!" Tears Leak Down My Face and Mikasa Asks, "Danielle….?" I Hear The Roars Of Eren's Titan As A Deep Blue Shines Off The Surrounding Area and The Sound Of A Crystal Forming Can Be Heard.

When The Sound Stops, I Choke On My Own Tears and I Cover My Face With My Hand and I Cry, "Mikasa…. Kill Me Please! I Can't…. I" Mikasa Shakes Her Head and Answers, "No! I'm Not Killing You!" I Look At Her and I Yell, "Why Not?! You Assholes Just Took Her From Me!" Mikasa Cups My Face In Her Hands and She Murmurs, "Because I Love You" She Presses Her Lips Against Mine. With A Growl, I Push Her Away and I Spit Onto The Floor.

I Look Up At Jean and I Say, "Cuff Me If You Must. Just Get Me Away From Her" Jean Nods and He Cuffs Me and Drags Me Over To The Crystal. He Pushes Me To My Knees In Front Of It and I Hear, "Why Did You Do It, Danielle?" I Look Up and I See Eren and Armin and I Stay Silent.

Eren Kicks Me In The Face and Yells, "Why Did You Do It?!" I Spit Blood Onto The Floor and Mikasa Runs Over and Yells, "Eren! Don't Hurt Her!" I Look At Jean and I Say, "Take Me Over There" I Nod Towards The Crystal and He Looks Back At Hanji and She Nods and Answers, "Only For A Minute" I Nod and Say, "That's All I Ask" and Jean Drags Me Next To The Crystal and He Walks Away.

I Rest My Head On It and I Breathe, "I'll See You Soon, Annie. I'll Rescue You When I Can, I Promise But Once I Get The Chance, I'll Escape. As Much As I Hate It, I'm Keeping My Promise To You" I Look Over At Jean and Hanji Commands, "Get These Two Out Of Sight. Preferably In The Same Room So The Female Titan Can Hear Her Girlfriends Screams Of Pain" Hanji's Squad Nod and Jean Grabs Me and He Says, "I'm Sorry" I Nod and He Knocks Me Out.


	26. Chapter 26 - Season 2

**The Devils Inside Season 2 – Chapter 1 – Our Duty As Warriors**

Danielle's PoV

I Grit My Teeth As Hanji and Levi Work At Pulling Off My Fingernails and Hanji Asks, "Are You Not Going To Scream For Us? I Think You're Girlfriend Is Disappointed. I'm Sure That She Likes The Sound Of Your Screams…" I Spit The Blood That Had Gathered In My Mouth At Her Face and I Snap, "Burn In Hell" Hanji Laughs and Answers, "She's A Lively One Levi" Levi Looks At Me and Asks, "Why Did You Do It?"

I Play Innocent and I Ask, "Do What?" Levi Slams His Fist Into My Mouth and He Growls, "Kill Innocent People! The People In Stohess and The People In Shiganshina! Why Did You Do It?!" I Shake My Head and Blood Drips From The Large Split In My Lip and I Say, "I'm Not Telling You Anything. You'll Have To Try Harder Than That"

I Look Levi Directly In The Eyes and I Say, "I Just Want To Let You Know That I Loved The Sound Of Your Squads Screams As They Died. The Way The Snap Of Petra's Back Rang Through The Trees Like A Branch Breaking Was Music To My Ears"

Something Snaps In The Short Captain and He Delivers Blow After Blow To My Face. He Stops When Hanji Pulls Him Away and I Laugh, "The Shortass Has A Temper" Levi Struggles Against Hanji and He Yells, "I'll Kill You! You Hear Me! I'll Fucking Kill You!" I Twist My Hand In The Restraints and I Flip Him Off With A Satisfied Smirk On My Face.

Levi Roars In Anger and Hanji Slams The Door Closed As She Drags Him Away. I Sigh, and I Hear, "You Shouldn't Have Angered Him" I Look Up and I See Jean. I Shrug, and I Say, "It's What I Do Best. Now, What Can I Do For You Jean? I Mean, If You're Not Here To Kill Me" He Sits In One Of The Chairs In Front Of Me and Jean Asks, "Did You Play A Part In Marco's Death"

I Choke On My Own Saliva and I Ask, "What?" Jean Looks Down and He Asks, "Did You Kill Marco?" A Lump Rises In My Throat and I Say, "Promise To Hear Me Out?" Jean Nods and I Continue, "Yes. I Played A Part In Marco's Death. Did I Enjoy It? No. I Mean Who Would Enjoy Their Best Friend Struggling As They Are Forced To Submit To Someone's Traitorous Ways. Annie and I Were Against It, But We Couldn't Do Anything Because He Was In The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time. I'm Sorry Jean…. I Really Am. I Considered Marco As A Brother, You Know That!" Jean Looks Me In The Eyes and He Answers, "I Know and I Believe You But How Can You Vouch For Her?" He Nods Towards Annie and I Answer, "I Can Vouch For Annie Because I Have Known Her Since We Were Kids. Born Three Hours Apart."

Jean Nods and He Asks, "Are You Going To Cooperate With Us?" I Shake My Head and I Say, "My Sins Will Die With Me and So Will My Secrets. If You See Sasha and Connie…. Tell 'Em That I'm Sorry" He Nods and Answers, "I Will" and He Stands Up and Walks To The Door and I Call, "It Was A Pleasure Working With You, Horseface!" Jean Turns His Head and He Answers, "Same With You" and He Walks Out.

I Sigh and The Door Opens Again and I Look Up and I See Hanji. I Raise A Brow and She Takes Off My Restraints and Cuffs Me and She Points To The Bed and Says, "We're Done For The Day. Now Gets Some Rest"

I Gulp, and I Ask, "Hanji? Can I Ask You Something?" She Raises A Brow and Asks, "What?" I Gulp and Say, "How Long Have I Been Here?" Hanji Hums and Answers, "Around 3 Days. Why?" I Shrug, and I Say, "You Look Like You're Going Somewhere. That's All" Hanji Nods and Answers, "We Are But That's Private Information. Now Sleep" I Walk Over To The Bed With A Nod and I Sit Down and She Walks Out, Closing The Door Behind Her.

I Look At The Crystal That Encases My Girlfriend and I Look Down With A Sigh and I Matter, "I Messed Up So Bad. Dad Entrusted Me With The Safety Of My Comrades and I Messed Up. Marcel Died, Annie's In A Crystal and I Don't Know Where Reiner and Bertholdt Are" I Hear The Chattering Of A Soldier Coming Towards The Door and I Stand Behind The Door and It Opens.

A Military Police Soldier Walks In and He Looks Around The Room. I Throw My Chains Around His Neck and I Begin Strangling Him. I Twist My Arms and I Hear A Crunch. I Let Him Go and I Pull The Keys Off His Belt and With Much Struggling, I Manage To Unlock My Cuffs.

I Back Up Towards The Door and I Hear Annie's Voice In My Head, _'Go You Idiot!'_ I Nod and I Turn Around and I See My ODM Gear Locked Up In A Cabinet. I Unlock The Cabinet and I Pull My Gear On and I Run Out Of The Building.

I Run Through The Backstreets Of The District and I Run Towards The Gate. I See It Closing So I Slide Under It and I Run Far Enough Away That I'm Out Of Sight Of The Walls. I Bite Down On My Hand and I Transform Into My Titan Form and I Begin Running Towards Wall Rose.

 **At Wall Rose**

As I Get Closer To Wall Rose, I See The Scouts. I Climb Out Of My Titan Form and I Use My ODM Gear To Climb Up The Wall. I Walk Towards My Friends With My Blades Drawn, Making Sure I'm Not Seen, and I Say, "Hey Bert" He Turns Around and I Smirk At Him.

He Nudges Reiner and Reiner Turns His Head and He Grins. I Crouch Behind My Friends and Reiner Calls, "Eren. We Need To Talk To You About Something" Eren Turns Around and He Asks, "What Is It?" Eren Walks Over and Reiner Answers, "Five Years Ago, We Destroyed The Wall and Began Our Attack On Humanity. I'm The Armoured Titan and He's The Colossus Titan. I'm Sure You Know Who The Armoured Wolf Titan Is." Eren Gulps and Asks, "Is That What You Call Her?" Reiner Nods.

Eren Looks At Them and Eren Gulps and Asks, "What Are You Saying?" Bertholdt Grabs Reiner's Shoulder and Asks, "Wh-What're You Telling Him Reiner?" Reiner Shoves Bertholdt Back and He Continues, "Our Goal Was To Wipe Out All Humanity But Now There's No Need To Do That Anymore." I Pat Bertholdts Back Carefully and He Gulps.

"Eren… If You Come With Us, We Won't Need To Destroy Any More Of The Walks. Understand?" Eren Gasps and Asks, "What?! Wait Up! I Don't Understand!" Reiner Smirks and Growls, "I'm Telling You To Come With Us. It's Sudden, But You Need To Come Now." Eren Backs Up and Asks, "Right Now?! Where Are We Going?" Reiner Looks Away and Answers, "I Can't Tell You That But…. Well I Guess You'd Call It Our Hometown" Reiner Holds His Hand Out and Asks, "What Do You Say, Eren? Not A Bad Deal, Right? It Means N More Crisis For Now" Eren Looks Away and Murmurs, "I Don't Know…" Eren Looks Up At The Sky As He Weighs His Options.

 **Hours Before**

Mikasa's PoV

"Annie and Danielle's Background Checks Finally Came In" Hanji Announces. I Look At Her and She Continues, "It Looks Like Two Others From The 104th Were Born In The Same Region As Them. Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover" Eren Gasps, "Huh?" and Hanji Continues, "Well… Because Of The Chaos Five Years Ago, All The Family Records Were In Rough Shape. The Documents Were So Poorly Managed That It Took Them Until Now To Figure This Out. Reiner and Bertholdt Were Part Of A Group That Was Falsely Told That Eren Was On The Right Side Of The Expedition Outside The Wall. Danielle Redwolf, However Was In The Vanguard On The Right Side. Annie Leonhardt, The Female Titan, Appeared On The Right Side."

I Clench My Fists and Hanji Continues, "Of Course, That Doesn't Prove Anything On Its Own, But Just In Case…. I'd Like To Know About The Relationship Between Those Four During Their Time In The Training Corps. What Are Your Thoughts?" Armin Hums and Says, "Danielle Had A Close Relationship With Annie. They Were Inseparable…." Eren Cuts Him Off and Answers, "You Saw The Way Danielle Broke Down After The Raid"

Armin Nods and Eren Continues, "However, I Never Saw Reiner and Bertholdt Talking To Annie Or Danielle. Not That The Two Ever Spoke To Anyone But Each Other To Begin With…" I Nod and Say, "I Don't Recall Anything…" Eren Crosses His Arms and States, "But As Another Member Of The 104th, I Don't Think There's A Strong Reason To Suspect Them. Putting Aside Bertholdt Who Is Always Silent, Reiner Is Like Our Older Brother. Reiner Doesn't Seem Clever Enough To Deceive People."

Armin Nods and States, "I Feel The Same Way, Reiner Fought Annie Together With Me and Jean. Reiner Was Nearly Crushed To Death, and…." Armin Stops and Eren Asks, "What's Wrong?"

Armin's PoV

I Gulp and Continue, "Reiner Got Away, But Annie Suddenly Changed Direction and Ran Off To Where You Were, Eren. I Had Also Guessed Out Loud That You Were Probably In The Centre Rear But Annie Was Too Far Away To Hear" Eren Looks At Me and Asks, "What Do You Mean?" Hanji Hums and Says, "But Reiner Would Have Heard? Did He Show Any Interest In Eren's Location?"

I Gulp and Say, "I Talked About Eren's Location Because Reiner Asked Me About It and When The Female Titan Was Staring At Her Palm…. She Could Have Been Looking At Letters Written On It With A Blade, If Reiner Carved Them There!" Eren Gulps and Says, "In The Forest, There Was A Different Titan…. It Had Wolf Ears and It Looked Like The Armoured Titan But With Fur…. It Was Really Protective Over Annie. I Only Managed To Get Close To Annie When The Titan Let Its Guard Down But When It Had Its Guard Up, It Fought With Weapons." He Turns To Me and Snaps, "But Why The Hell Would You Say Something Like Th…"

Hanji Cuts Him Off and Says, "Eren! No Everyone, Listen To Me. If We Do Find Danielle, Reiner and Bertholdt, Make Them Think That We Don't Suspect Them and Of Course, Don't Even Mention The Existence Of Annie Leonhardt. Whether They Conspired With Her Or Not, We Need To Carefully Lead Them Deep Underground and Confine Them There"

Danielle's PoV

I Look At Eren and He Says, "Listen Guys…. You're Tired. Right, Bertholdt? What You've Gone Through's Just Made You A Little Crazy." Bertholdt Nods and Stammers, "Yeah…. That's Right! We're Just Tired" Eren Looks At Reiner and Continues, "and If You Were Really The Armoured Titan That Killed So Many People, Why Would You Be Talking To Me About Something Like This? Would You Expect Me To Say "Okay, Let's Go" After Hearing That?"

Reiner Nods and Stammers, "Yeah…. I Guess You're Right. I Wonder What I Was Thinking…. Maybe I Really Am Crazy?" Eren Begins To Walk Off and He States, "Anyway, We're Going To Town" Reiner Looks Down and Snarls, "We've Probably Been Here For Too Long. We've Lived Here For Three Years…. Surrounded By Idiots. We Were Just Kids…. We Didn't Know Anything. If Only We Never Heard That These Bastards Existed…. Then We Wouldn't Have Become These Half-Hearted Pieces Of Shit…." Reiner Takes Off His Sling and Continues, "I Don't Know What's, Right Anymore But I Do Know That I Have To Face The Consequences Of My Actions"

Reiner Holds His Arm Up and Growls, "I Have To Carry Out My Duty As A Warrior To The Very End" Bertholdt Looks At Him and Yells, "Reiner! Are We Doing It?! Here?! Now?!" Reiner Nods and He Yells, "Yeah! We Fight Now! We Decide This Here!"

Mikasa Jumps From Behind Eren and I Jump Out From Behind Bertholdt and Out Blades Clash. I Smirk At Her As Pain Flashes Through Her Eyes and I Ask, "Missed Me Mikasa?" Mikasa Glares At Me and Snarls, "I Gave You A Second Chance! We All Did!" I Push Harder and I Yell, "You Fucking Kissed Me! I'm Not On Your Side and I Never Will Be!" Mikasa Jumps Back and We Begin Fighting.

She Gets The Upper Hand and Her Blades Hit Me In The Neck, The Shoulder and The Side Of The Head. She Attacks Reiner and Bertholdt As I Fall and She Stands On Bertholdt's Chest and Yells, "Eren! Get Out Of Here!" I Stand Up and I Run Into Her, Throwing Her Off The Wall.

Reiner Stands Up and Yells, "Danielle! Bertholdt!" We Stand Next To Him and Lightning Strikes. As We Transform, I Let Out A Roar and Reiner Grabs Eren As He Flies Off The Wall. I Pull Out My Sword and I Breathe Fire In A Circle Around Is So They Can't Get To Us and Bertholdt Grabs Ymir and Throws Her In His Mouth and Reiner Skids Down The Wall.

I Let Steam Out Of My Mouth As My Body Cools and I Jump Off The Wall and Down Onto The Ground. Eren and Reiner Begin Fighting and I Watch As Eren Punches Reiner. Reiner Flinches Slightly But Brings His Fist Around and Slams It Into Eren's Face With So Much Force That He Goes Flying Back.

 _Flashback_

 _Danielle's PoV_

 _I Turn Away From My Training With Sasha and I See Eren Land On His Ass. I Chuckle and Sasha Hits Me With The Gun. I Hold My Head With A Yelp and I Gasp, "Ow! What The Hell?!" My Head Snaps In Her Direction and She Says, "Sorry!" I Smile and Answer, "It's Alright, Sasha" I Pat Her Shoulder and I Walk Over To Annie and Eren. Eren Rubs His Head and Groans, "That Hurt! Listen Annie… You Know What It Means To Pull Your Punches, Right?" Annie Turns Away From Him and Grunts, "Same To You" Eren Raises A Brow and Says, "Huh?" Annie Turns Back To Him and Annie Says, "You Came Charging In With All Your Strength. So, I Had To Return In Kind. I Can't Match You For Brute Strength and You're A Man Right? Shouldn't You Be More Careful With This Delicate Body Of Mine?"_

 _I Smirk and Eren Says, "Wha…? Don't Make Me Laugh. If You're No Match For My Strength The Why Do I Keep Ending Up On My Ass While You're Still Standing?" I Decide To Make Myself Known and I Say, "Is Annie Beating Your Ass Again, Yeager?" Eren Jumps Up and He Says, "No! What Makes You Think That?!" I Cross My Arms and I Say, "Well Maybe Because From What I Saw, Annie Was Still Standing and You Were On The Ground Whimpering Like A Little Bitch" Eren Growls and Annie States, "The Techniques I Used Are Different From The Ones They're Teaching Us Here. These Techniques Are Used By Someone To Defend Against An Opponent Who's Stronger Than Them." I Nod and Say, "It Was Actually Annie Who Taught Me That Move." Annie Smirks and She Looks At Eren and Gets Into Her Stance and She Says, "It Wouldn't Hurt For You To Learn Them Too"_

 _Eren Holds A Hand Up and Chuckles, "Okay. Let's Take A Quick Break" Annie Ignores Him and Swings At Him. On The Second Swing She Hooks Her Arms Around His Neck and Arm and She Floors Him. I Chuckle and Eren Groans, "Annie…. You Win…. I Give Up" Annie Raises A Brow and Replies, "Give Up? Don't Give Up, Learn How To Use Your Strength and How To Talk To Girls" She Tightens Her Grip On Him and He Yelps, "O-Okay! I Will, Just Let Go!" Annie Chuckles and Asks, "So You Really Want To Learn More?" I See Mikasa Throw Reiner and I Yell, "Oi Annie! Incoming!" We Both Jump Away From Eren and Reiner Lands On Him._

 _Eren Looks At Reiner and He Asks, "W-Why Did Reiner Fall On Us?" I Am About To Reply When I Hear, "Hey, Annie. That Move…. Teach Me, Too" I Back Away, While Dragging Eren and Reiner With Me and I Cross My Arms With A Smirk. Annie Stands Up and Says, "I Dunno… These Techniques Are For Humans. I Don't Think You'd Have Any Use For Them. But I Am Interested To See If They Work On Beasts" Connie Stands Next To Me and Asks, "Are Those Two Going To Go At It?" Sasha Nods and Gasps, "It's A Dream Match"_

 _Daz Looks At Annie and Mikasa and Asks, "Who's Going To Win?" Marco Crosses His Arms and Asks, "Think Annie Can Do It?" Jean Looks At Him and Yells, "Huh?! Are You Stupid?! I'll Bet My Whole Dinner On Mikasa!" I Laugh and Say, "Oh You're On Kirschtein!" Reiner Looks At Eren and Asks, "What About You Eren?" Eren Looks At Him and Stammers, "Huh? I…." I Grin and Yell, "Go On Annie! Kick Her Ass Into Submission!" Half The Crowd Of Cadets Cheer On Mikasa and The Other Half Cheer On Annie._

 _Annie Pulls Off Her Jacket With A Smirk, "If I Lose Then Mikasa Will Fight My Back Up!" She States Loudly. Everyone Looks At Her and Mikasa Asks, "Who's Your Back Up?!" Annie Looks Back At Me and Beckons Me Forward. I Crack My Knuckles and I Walk Forward and I See Mikasa's Eyes Widen Slightly and Annie Continues, "If I Win Then I Will Fight Mikasa's Back Up" Mikasa Motions Eren Forward and Eren Walks Up Next To Her._

 _I Smirk and Instructor Shadis Walks Over and He Asks, "What Is Going On Here?" I Look At Him and Say, "It's a Fight, Sir" He Nods and Says, "Alright. Take It Away Then" Eren and I Walk Backwards and Mikasa Throws The First Punch. Annie Blocks It and Kicks Mikasa's Legs From Under Her and Mikasa Lands On Her Ass. I Grin and Reiner Stands Next To Me and Yells, "Fuck Her Up Annie!" Annie Smirks and Mikasa Charges At Her Again. Annie Dodges Each Punch and Swings Her Fist Around and She Punches Mikasa In The Jaw. The Force OAF The Punch Sends Mikasa To The Ground and She Spits Blood Out Of Her Mouth. I Grin and Jean Yells, "C'mon Mikasa! You've Got This!" After An Hour Of Fighting, Both Annie and Mikasa Are Covered In Bruises and Cuts But Annie Has Mikasa Pinned Down On The Ground._

 _Annie Smirks Down At The Girl and Says, "Better Luck Next Time, Ackerman" Mikasa Pushes Her Off With A Growl and Walks Off In Defeat. I Run Over To Annie and I Pick Her Up and I Say, "That Was Badass!" Annie Grins At Me and Eren Says, "Oi! Now It's My Turn!" I Look At Annie and I Ask, "Do You Want Me To Stand In For You?" Annie Shakes Her Head and I Place Her Down and I Kiss The Side Of Her Head and I Walk Back Over To Reiner. Annie Gets Into Her Stance and Eren Runs At Her. I Chuckle and It Only Takes Annie A Few Seconds To Pin Eren Down On The Ground. I Grin and I Turn To Jean and I Say, "Looks Like Your Dinner Is Mine, Kirschtein" Jean Looks Down and We Are All Dismissed To Lunch._

 _End Of Flashback_


	27. Chapter 27 - Season 2

**The Devils Inside – Season 2 – Chapter 2 – The Fight For Freedom**

Danielle's PoV

Eren Stands Up and I Run At Him and I Tackle Him. I Keep Him Pinned Down and I Repeatedly Slam My Fist Into His Face. I Narrow My Eyes Down At Him and I Snarl, _"This Is For Annie, You Eldian Bastard!"_ Eren Grabs My Wrist and He Uses His Legs To Push Me Away and I Stumble Back. He Roars At Me and I Roar Back. Reiner Pushes Me Away With A Growl and He Begins Fighting Eren Again.

Eren Uses One Of Annie's Moves To Throw Reiner and He Uses His Legs To Grab Reiner In A Headlock and He Cracks Reiner's Armour and After A Few Minutes, He Slams Reiner's Face Into The Floor and Rips His Arm Off.

Eren Stands Up and Backs Away To The Wall. I Think Of Something and With A Grin, I Make A Spear Out Of My Armor. I Line It Up With Eren and I Throw It. Eren Looks Up At The Last Second and It Spears Him In The Chest, Pinning Him To The Wall.

Reiner Takes It As His Cue and He Barrels Towards Eren and Slams Him Into The Wall. Eren Slides Down The Wall, The Spear Cutting Through His Shoulder and He Begins Pulling At Reiner's Legs. Reiner Falls To The Floor and Eren Gets Up and I Run Forward With My Sword At The Ready and I Swing It At Eren.

Eren Blocks The Blade and He Swings At Me. I Send My Wings Forward and His Hand Gets Shredded, I Smirk and Say, ' _You Should Know Better, Eren'_ He Tries To Throw Me Using One Of Annie's Moves By I Dodge Out Of The Way and I Throw A Few Punches.

He Roars In My Face and Grabs Me and Throws Me Into The Wall, Right Next To The Crater. The Crash Smashes My Armour, Rendering Me Useless and Reiner Tackles Eren. Eren Wraps His Legs Around Reiner and He Tries To Pull Reiner's Head Off.

Mikasa Slices At The Back Of Reiner's Knee After He Moves Eren To The Crater and Reiner Roars. I Hear Creaking and I Am Rendered Blind By An Explosion. I Rip Myself From The Nape Of My Titan and I Hook My ODM Gear Onto Reiner's Back As He Sprints Away.

Bertholdt Sends Me A Smirk and I Say, "We Can Finally Go Home" He Nods and Answers, "Yeah. We Need To Tell Annie The Good News" I Shake My Head and I Say, "No. Annie Encased Herself In A Crystal Three Days Ago…. I Couldn't Have Saved Her Even If I Wanted To" Bertholdt Looks Down and He Says, "We'll Get Her Back. I Promise"

I Nod and Say, "I Know. Anyway, Why Is Ymir With Us?" Bertholdt Hesitates and He Answers, "She's The Titan That Ate Marcel" A Lump Catches In My Throat and I Say, "If The Survey Corps Come For Them Then We Can't Give Her Back. That Power Belongs To Porco" Bertholdt Nods and I Rub My Eyes and Reiner Continues Running.

 **Later That Day**

I Stand On A Branch Keeping Watch For The Survey Corps and I Hear, "Oh Eren. You're Up" I Dig My Fingers Into The Tree and A Growl Leaves My Throat But I Resist The Urge To Jump Down and Beat Him To A Pulp. Eren Checks Under His Cape and He Asks, "What's Going On? My Arms…." Ymir Looks At Him and Replies, "Eren. Look, I'm In The Same Situation As You. Guess Today's A Rough One For The Both Of Us"

Eren Looks At His Arms and He Asks, "Why Don't I Have Arms?" Reiner Smirks and Answers, "Oh Sorry. I Did That. I Was In A Hurry and I Bit Your Neck While I Was Panicking and I Missed Both Your Arms In The Process" Eren Looks Down and He Nods and Answers, "I See… So, I Lost" I Turn To Face Him and He Brings What Is Left Of His Arm To His Mouth and Goes To Bite When Bertholdt Yells, "Eren! Stop!"

Ymir Stops Him and She Says, "Just Wait A Second Eren. Take A Good Look Around You. This Is The Titan Forest Inside Wall Maria. It's Apparently Pretty Far Away From The Wall. Naturally, It's Part Of Titan Territory. Just Look. I Guess You'd Call Those Abnormals. It Might Look Like They're Just Relaxing But They've Got Their Eyes Locked Onto Us and There Are A Lot Of Smaller Ones Below. They Pose A Threat, Too.

There's A Big One Over There, As Well. It's Just Watching Us and Not Coming Close. It's Probably Not Very Strong. Then There's Them. Those Two Stingy Bastards. They're The Only Ones Wearing Vertical Manoeuvring Equipment. Reiner's Wearing Yours. Recklessly Turning Into A Titan Here and Now Doesn't Strike Me As A Good Idea. Not Only Can They Do The Same, They Can Also Escape High Into The Trees and Even If They Couldn't, We're Surrounded By Titans. Even With "Titan Powers," It's Hard To Make It Out Of Titan Territory Like This Alive. You Understand, Don't You? We Don't The Luxury Of Being Able To Run Wild Here"

Reiner Shakes His Head and Answers, "No, Right Now, Neither Of You Could Even Become Titans To Begin With. It's Not Quite As Convenient As You Think. Your Strength Is Limited. At The Moment, It's All You Can Do To Repair Your Bodies. Oh, and Ymir, You Missed One."

He Points Up To Me and Continues, "Unlike Us, When Danielle Is Angry, Nothing Can Stop Her, Except One Person and She Tells Me That Annie Is In A Crystal So That Also Tells Me That You Are Out Of Luck Eren. If She Comes Down Here, She Won't Hesitate To Cut Your Head Off and You Can't Stop Her. If You Transform, Danielle's Titan Is Stronger, Faster and Smarter. With The Ability To Make Weapons From Her Armour, She Can Kill You At Any Time While In Titan Form. Her Wings Can Shred Anything, I'm Sure You've Learned That Eren and Her Fire Breath Can Burn Anything"

I Smirk, and I Say, "I Won't Go Easy On You Either, Eren. You Took Her Away From Me" He Glares At Reiner and Answers, "Dumbass. Who The Hell Would Believe What You Have To Say?" Ymir Sighs and Asks, "Well, I Don't Know That Much About Our Titan Powers, Either. Unlike You Three, I Don't Know How Those Kind Of Things Work. Hey Reiner, You Said You'd Talk Once Eren Woke Up, Right? So How About You Finally Tell Us? What Do You Three Plan On Doing With Us From Here?"

Reiner Crosses His Arms and Answers, "You're Coming With Us To Our Home Town. Don't Give Us Any Trouble Is What I Would Say, But I Know Very Well, You Wouldn't Listen. Still, Like Ymir Said, This Is A Hive Of Titans. If We Tried To Kill Each Other Here, We'd Just Be Eaten By Other Titans Once We Grew Weak. In Other Words, We Have To Stay Here Until Night Time, When The Titans Can't Move. Whether You Two Manage To Get Away From Us Or We Manage To Carry You Off, We Have To Wait Until Night"

Ymir Looks At Him and Asks, "Why Did You Come To A Place Like This Instead Of Running Back To This "Home Town" Of Yours As The Armoured Titan? You Get Tired and Decide To Take A Break?" Reiner Scoffs and Answers, "I'll Leave That Up To Your Imagination "

After A Few Minutes Ymir Pipes Up, "Wait, Those Titans At The Castle Were Moving Around Fine At Night, You Know. What About The Ones Here?" Reiner Shakes His Head and Answers, "The Titans Here Can't Move At Night. I Think You Already Know That, Ymir" I Chuckle, and I Say, "So You've Met A Friend Of Ours? Lucky You. Like Me, When He Wants Something, He Gets It"

Ymir Raises A Brow and Asks, "A Friend Of Yours?" I Nod and Say, "Yep. The Beast Titan. Second Most Powerful Titan Power In The World" Eren Raises A Brow and Asks, "Who's The First?" I Smirk Down At Them and I Say, "You're Looking At Her. My Titan Is A Mixture Of All 9 Titan Powers With Some Extra Powers On The Side. Trust Me, Eren. If I Hadn't Restrained Myself In The Fights With You, We Wouldn't Be Having This Conversation"

Eren Looks At Me and Growls, "Like I Would Ever Submit To You" I Laugh and Say, "You Don't Have A Choice Because When It's Time To Bow, You Will Fucking Bow" I Pull The Canteen Off My Belt and I Take A Large Gulp Out Of It. I Look Down At Bertholdt and I Say, "Yo Bertholdt! Heads Up!" I Drop It Down To Him and He Catches It and Takes A Few Gulps.

He Passes It To Reiner and Reiner Takes A Small Gulp. Ymir Looks At Me and Asks, "Danielle? Could I Have Some? I'm Going To Dry Up and Die If I Don't Drink Something" I Nod and Say, "I Don't See Why Not" I Jump Down and I Take The Canteen From Reiner and I Jump Over To Her and I Pass It To Her.

She Takes A Few Gulps and Answers, "Thank You" I Nod and Say, "Don't Mention It" I Climb Back Over To Reiner and Bertholdt and Ymir Says, "I See Nothing Has Changed. Always Putting People Before You" I Look At Her and I Say, "My Personality Changed After Stohess." I Place The Canteen Back On My Belt and Ymir Says, "This Whole Thing Is Bullshit." Reiner Hums and Answers, "You Know, I Think Its Been Since Yesterday Morning. We've Been Working Our Asses Off Ever Since The Titans Popped Up. We Haven't Had Any Proper Food and Most Of All, We Haven't Slept. Well, Thankfully, The Wall Wasn't Destroyed. So, I'd Least Like To Be Allowed Some Rest. We Can Talk About Promotion After That"

Bertholdt Looks At Reiner and He Grunts, "Reiner…" Reiner Cuts Him Off and Continues, "No…. I Think We've Done Enough Work To Deserve Consideration. It's Not Easy To Act In A Situation As Messed Up As That One. As A Soldier, I Don't See What's Wrong With Being Commended and Rewarded For That" I Groan, and I Say, "Reiner, When We Get Home, The Best Your Cowardly Ass Will Get Is At Least Captain. Bertholdt Is Likely To Vice-Commander While I Get Commander"

Reiner Looks Down and Ymir Asks, "Mister Reiner, What In The Hell Are You Going On About?" Reiner Looks At Her and Answers, "Hm? What Do You Mean? I'm Not Saying That I Should Be Immediately Promoted To Captain, You Know" Ymir Shakes Her Head and Replies, "Uh That's Not What I Mean…" Reiner Cuts Her Off and Asks, "Oh and By The Way, Where Did You Guys Get That Cannon From? You Really Saved Me There. Even So, I Managed To Save Christa After That. She Has To Be Into Me, Right? She's Actually Always Been Especially Nice To Me But-" I Cut Him Off With A Smack To The Back Of The Head and I Say, "What The Fuck Did I Tell You During The 57th Expedition? Christa Is Gay! She Told Me Herself! She's Been With Ymir Since Training Started You Fucking Numpty" Reiner Is About To Reply When Eren Yells, "Hey! Is This A Joke?"

Reiner Stands Up and Asks, "What Are You Mad About, Eren? Did I Say Something Wrong?" Eren Glares At Him and Yells, "If You Want Me To Kill You, Just Come Out and Say It!" Ymir Stops Him and She Says, "Wait, Eren. Whatever He's Saying… It's Not Normal. Isn't That Right, Danielle? Bertholdt? If There's Something You Know, Then Quit Being Silent and Actually Do Something"

I Sit Next To Bertholdt and He Says, "Reiner… You're… You're Not A Soldier. We're Warriors" Something Clicks In Reiner's Mind and He Answers, "Yeah. That's Right" Eren Raises A Brow and Asks, "Huh? What In The…." Ymir Cuts Him Off and Says, "I Think I'm Starting To See What's Going On Here. I Thought Something Was Strange. I Mean Why Would The Man Who Destroyed The Wall Risk His Life To Save Connie? You Were Taking Contradictory Actions, But Without Being Aware Of It. I Don't Know Why That, Happened But You Were Originally A Warrior Whose Goal Was To Destroy The, Wall But You Pretended To Be A Soldier For So Long, You Could No Longer Tell Which Was The Real You.

No Maybe You Couldn't Bear The Weight Of Your Sins. In Order To Keep Your Mind In Balance, You Unconsciously Escaped Into A Fantast, Convincing Yourself That You Were Just A Soldier Who Protected The Wall. That Caused Your Mind To Split and Altered You Memories. Judging By Danielle and Bertholdts Dumbfounded Expressions, This Isn't The First Time Your Stories Stopped Fitting Together. Does That Sound Right? Wow. But That Happening To Someone With An Overly Honest Personality Like Yours Isn't-" Reiner Glares At Her and Growls, "Shut Up. Shut Your Mouth" Ymir Smirks and Answers, "My Bad. I Guess I Pried To Much"

Eren Looks At Us and Asks, "You... You Have To Be Kidding Me…. How Can You Act Like A Victim? What Are You Even Thinking? Why Did You Even Listen To What We Had To Say That Day? Tell Me Bertholdt… Danielle…. Yeah, You… You Stupid Bastards. Don't You Remember What I Said? I Was Right In Front Of You Three and I Told You About The Time My Mother Was Eaten By A Titan, Didn't I? About How She Couldn't Escape Because A Shard Of The Gate You Kicked Down Landed Right On My House. You Know About That, Right? I Told You, Didn't It? What Did You Think? What Were You Thinking That Day?"

Bertholdt Sighs and He Answers, "Back Then… I Felt Very Sorry For You" He Looks At Me and I Say, "I Felt Nothing. Hell, I Was 11 When The Wall Was Destroyed and I Was Brought Up Believing That You Devils Inside The Walls Were All Bad People. Yet, I Still Got Attached. Sasha, Connie, Jean, Marco, Armin, Christa, Mikasa, You, Mina…."

I Rub My Eyes and I Continue, "We Didn't Know Any Better. We Were Just Kids, Confined In Walls Ourselves Until We Became Of Age To Become Warriors. That's What Makes Us Different From You. We Have A Purpose. That Day In Stohess, Annie and I Fought For Our Freedom. We Also Fought For Our Parents... I Don't Want To Imagine The Look On Annie's Fathers Face When I Tell Him That His Daughter Won't Be Coming Home"

Eren Grunts and Answers, "I See. You Three, You're Not Soldiers. You're Not Warriors. You're Just Murderers. You Massacred People Who'd Done Nothing Wrong! You're Mass Murderers!"

Reiner Growls and Yells, "We Know That! We Don't Need You To Tell Us!" Eren Glares At Him and Yells, "Then Stop Acting Like Responsible Citizens Worried About The State Of The World! You Three Aren't Even Human Anymore! You're The Ones Who Turned This World Into A Living Hell! Don't You See That, You Murderers?!"

I Turn Around and Reiner Yells, "So What Do You Want Us To Do About It?! What Do You Want These Murderers To Do?! Do You Want Us To Repent?! Do You Want Us To Apologize?! Are You Really Going To Preach To A Couple Of Cold-Blooded Murderers About How Killing Is Wrong?! Will That Satisfy You?! The Danielle, Reiner and Bertholdt You Know Are Gone and If All You Want To Do Is Cry About It, Then Go Ahead! Keep Crying!"

I Look At Eren and I Yell, "Eren! I Would Gladly Get Down On My Knees In Front Of What Ever Fucking God There Is and Beg For, Forgiveness But I Can't! If It Got Me Annie Back They By All Fucking Means, Throw Me Down Before The Devil and Ask Me To Recite My Sins! But No! It Won't!" Bertholdt Grabs My Arm and Tugs Me Down and Eren Looks At Me and Asks, "Danielle? Do You Care About Me At All?"

I Look At Him and I Answer, "I Thought Of You As A Little Brother, Eren. When Armin Said That You Died In The Battle Of Trost, I Helped Mikasa Keep It Together. I Didn't Want To Believe It. When I Saw Your Titan…. Deep Down I Knew It Was You. All These Things That I've Done…. I Didn't Want To Do It, But It Was The Only Reason We Were Born. We Weren't Born Out Of Love But Born To Carry Out Our Duties To The End. Please Eren… If You Still Hold Any Respect and Love In Your Heart For Me, Then Don't Hate Me…." Eren Looks Away and He Answers, "You're Right. I Was Being Naïve. All I Can Do Now Is Work. Work Hard To Make Sure You Three Die The Most Painful Deaths Possible." Ymir Shakes Her Head and Answers, "That's Not It Eren" Eren Looks At Her and Asks, "What?" Ymir Sighs and Continues, "I'm Begging You…. I Can't Put My Faith In You If You Keep Talking Like Some Stupid Kid" Eren Raises A Brow and Asks, "Like What?"

Ymir Rolls Her Eyes and Answers, "I'm Saying That There's No Way I'm Going Along With Someone Worried About Petty Things Like That. Hey Reiner?" Reiner Looks At Her and Ymir Asks, "What Was That Ape?" Reiner Raises A Brow and Asks, "Ape? What're You Talking About?" Ymir Smirks and Answers, "Hm? You Don't Know? Funny, Considering That Your Eyes Were Beaming Like You Were Kids When You Saw That Ape Earlier" Eren Raises A Brow and Asks, "What's This "Ape"?" Ymir Shuts Him Up and Continues, "Just Listen. That Ape, The "Beast Titan", Is The Cause Of This Recent Mess. It Was What Made Titans Appear Inside The Walls. Maybe It Was Testing Our Strength. You Three Are Trying To Get To It Because If You Do, You'll Be Able To Go Back To Your Home Town, Right?"

Eren Looks At Her and He Yells, "Tell Me Everything You Know!" Ymir Sighs and Answers, "Wait… There's A Lot Going On With Me, Too. But Listen Eren, If You Think That Everything Will Be Settled If You Take Care Of These Two Then You're Dead Wrong" Eren's Face Becomes Desperate and He Asks, "Then Who's Our Enemy?!" Ymir Raises A Brow and Asks, "Our Enemy? Well, If I Had To Say, Then It'd Be-" Reiner Cuts Her Off and He Yells, "Ymir! Do You Think This World Has A Future? If You Know That Much About What's Going On, Then Think About Your Plans. Surely You Can Consider Coming Over To Our Side?" Ymir Smirks At Him and Answers, "and Trust You? Fat Chance! You Can't Trust Me! Danielle However, I Can Trust Her"

I Turn To Look At Her and I Ask, "Why Me?" Ymir Looks At Me and Asks, "You Care About Christa, Right?" I Nod, and I Say, "I Do. After Finding Out About My Ancestors, I Do Believe That She Is A Distant Cousin Of Mine" Ymir Nods and She Answers, "Then I Can Trust You" Reiner Looks At Her and He Says, "No. I Can Trust You. Your Goal Is To Protect Christa Isn't It? That's One Thing We Should Be Able To Trust Each Other On! This Might Seem Like A Joke To You But Can't You Imagine That We All At Least Want To Do Something For Christa? Or Do You Think Eren's Strength Is More Reliable Than Ours?"

Eren Looks At Him and Yells, "What?!" I Sigh and Say, "Ymir... You Were Thinking If Using Eren To Escape From Here. Probably Because You Thought You Had No Chance If You Let Us Take You. To Be Honest With You, That's Exactly Right and Even If You Do Join Us, We Won't Be Able To Guarantee Your Safety" Reiner Cuts Me Off and He Continues, "But If We're Just Talking About Christa… Together, We Might Be Able To Make Something Work. Your Tiny Little Life Or Christa's Future. It's Your Choice" Eren Looks At Her and Asks, "Hey! So, Who's Our Real Enemy?!" Ymir Smirks and Answers, "Who Knows?"


	28. Chapter 28 - Season 2

**The Devils Inside Season 2 – Chapter 3 -Our Choices Reflect On Who We Are**

 _ **A/N: There Is Some Serious MikaWolf (MikasaxOC) In This Chapter So I Have Decided, When Annie's Fate Is Revealed In The Manga, It Will Decide If LeoWolf Will Stay Strong Or If MikaWolf Will Become A Thing Or Maybe I'll Switch Up The Story and It Will End Up With All Three. Who Knows? Tell Me In A Review If You Would Rather See #LeoWolf Or #MikaWolf!**_

Danielle's PoV

I Sit Away From Reiner and Bertholdt, Listening In On Their Conversation and Bertholdt Asks, "Are We Really Going To Trust Ymir? Her Titan Is Small, But It Was Fast. If We Don't Restrain Her, She Could Take Us Out In Minutes. She Really Is The One Who Ate Marcel, Remember?" Reiner Nods and Answers, "That's Right. But That's Exactly Why Her Position Is Clear. She Finally Became Human Again. She Probably Wanted To Wander, Thinking Only Of Her Own Survival. That Is, Until She Met Christa. She Found Someone She Valued More Than Herself. Someone So Dear That She'd Jump Into A Swarm Of Titans For Her."

Bertholdt Looks At Him and Asks, "Reiner. What Are You Right Now?" He Looks Bertholdt In The Eyes and Answers, "I'm A Warrior. Don't Worry. I Have More Reasons For Wanting To Bring Christa With Us Than Just Her Being Cute. Did You Forget? Annie Tailed Those Guys Who Were Loitering Around The Training Grounds To See What They Were Up To. They Came To Observe Christa From The Church Of The Wall, That Group That Knows What's Inside The Walls. Christa's An Important Figure In A Wallist Family. In Other Words, If The "Coordinate" We're Looking For Isn't Eren Himself Then Our Mission Won't Be Over Yet. If That Happens and We Have Christa, It Should Make The Search Much Easier Than It Is Now"

Bertholdt Nods and Answers, "Yeah. Let's Put An End To This" Reiner Nods and Bertholdt Continues, "Next Time We Come Here, We'll Be Able To Bring Annie, Christa, and That Back To Our Home Town and That Will Be The Last Time We Ever Come Here" Reiner Nods and Answers, "Yeah . All Our Duties Will Be Complete."

Reiner Smirks and Says, "But Bertholdt, Tell Annie How You Feel Once We Get To Our Home Town" My Ears Perk Up At This and I Turn My Head To Look At Them. Bertholdt Stammers and He Answers, "I…. Tell Her What?!" Reiner Grins and Answers, "You Stare At Her Too Much. Enough That Anyone Paying Attention Would Notice" Bertholdt Shakes His Head and He Answers, "Reiner, No! Annie Is Like My Little Sister! and Anyway…." Reiner Cuts Him Off and Asks, "Aw, Who Cares? You're Both Murderers With Little Time Left, Right? Who Else But One Of Us Could Understand The Situation We're In? and Anyway, Who's Stopping You?"

I Stand Up and I Snap, "I Am, Jackass" Reiner Turns Around and Asks, "What Do You Mean?" I Walk Up To Him and I Answer, "Annie and I Have Been Together Since We Left Marley and My God Reiner, Bertholdt Likes You, You Fucking Idiot!" Reiner Spins Around To Look At His Friend and Asks, "Is This True?"

Bertholdt Nods and Answers, "Yes. When Annie and Danielle Were Born, I Promised To Protect Them Like A Big Brother. All Those Times That I Stared At Her? I Was Keeping An Eye On Her. When Danielle Told Me, That Annie Encased Herself In A Crystal A Few Days Ago, I Felt Like I Had Let Her Down"

I Rub His Arm and I Say, "You Didn't Let Her Down" I Spin Around When I Hear The Sound Of Signal Flares and Reiner Growls, "Bertholdt" Bertholdt Gasps and Asks, "Is That A Signal Flare?! The Survey Corps? Already?!" I Hiss and Yell, "Fuck!" I Look At Them and I Say, "We Need To Go. Now!" Reiner and Bertholdt Nod and Follow My Command.

I Rub My Eyes and I Think _'This Is It. Our Final Stand. That Means I'll Have To Use This….'_ I Pull The Serum Out Of My Pocket and I Hear Eren Yelling, "I'll Kill You! I'll Fucking Kill You" I Turn Around and I Yell, "Eren!" The Authority In My Voice Makes The Boys Head Shoot Up and It Gives Reiner The Perfect Opportunity To Knock Him Out.

Bertholdt Looks At Me and I Ask, "Should I Use This?" Bertholdt Raises A Brow and He Reads, "Super Speed? No. Save It" I Nod and He Goes Over To Ymir and Helps Her Onto His Back and We Begin Leaving The Forest.

Reiner Looks At Us and He Says, "For Now, Let's Just Head Somewhere With No Titans. Stay As Far Away From Them As Possible. My Titan Moves Slow, So If We Get Surrounded, I Won't Be Able To Protect Both Of Us"

Ymir Looks Back and After A Few Minutes She Yells, "Danielle! Reiner! It's Christa!" I Turn My Head and I Ask, "What?!" She Nods and Answers, "Christa's Come Here With Them! Now's Our Chance To Grab Her!" I Am About To Say Something When Reiner Yells, "How Do You Know That?! You Can't See Her From Here!" Ymir Looks At Us and Yells, "I Know She's With Them! That Idiot Is Too Kind-Hearted For Her Own Good! She's Going To Come and Rescue Me!"

Reiner Looks Forward and Growls, "Even If That's True, We Can't Go Now! We'll Get Another Chance!" Ymir Glares At Him and Asks, "What?!" Reiner Looks Back At Her and Yells, "We're Clearly Not Likely To Succeed Right Now! How Are You Going To Grab Christa While She's Inside That Group?! Wait For Our Chance!"

Ymir Scoffs and Yells, "Wait For Our Chance?! When's That Going To Be? After One Of Your Warriors Eats Me?! No! I Can't Trust You!" Ymir Turns To Me and Breathes, "Danielle! Please! I Want To See Her Now! At This Rate… I'll Never See Her Again!" I Turn Back To Face Her and My Head Snaps In Reiner's Direction, "You Don't Make The Decisions Around Here, Braun! I Do!" My Voice Booms Throughout The Forest and I Say, "Ymir, When She Gets Close Enough, Grab Her." She Nods and Answers, "Thank You"

I Nod and Reiner Looks At Me and Yells, "Danielle! We Don't Have Time! We'll All Be Killed and Then You Won't Get To See Annie Again!" I Turn To Him and Roar, "Don't You Fucking Dare Say Her Name! You Are The Fucking Reason That All Of This Happened In The First Place! You Were The One Who Wanted To Continue The Mission! Annie, Bertholdt and I Refused!"

He Looks Away and I Say, "I'll Go With Her! Get Eren Out Of Here! Christa Knows Us Both! She's My Cousin For Fuck Sake! She'll Trust Me!" I Look At Bertholdt and I Say, "Bertholdt! You're In Charge!" He Nods and Answers, "Roger!" I Spin Around and I Grab Ymir's Hand and I Throw Her Forward. She Bites Her Hand and Transforms.

I Hook Onto Her and We Stop On One Of The Trees. I Stand On Her Head and I See Mikasa, Jean Connie and Armin. I Scan Them and Armin Yells, "Danielle! Ymir!" I See Christa and I Tap Ymir's Head With My Foot and Christa Yells, "Danielle! Ymir! You're Both Safe! Thank Goodness!" Ymir Jumps Forward and Grabs Christa In Her Mouth and Begins Jumping Away.

I See Reiner and Bertholdt and Reiner Jumps Off The Branch and Transforms. I Hook Onto His Back and Bertholdt Does The Same. I Pull The Serum Out Of My Pocket and I Order, "Reiner! Open Your Mouth! Now!" He Does As I Command and I Place The Serum On His Tooth and I Say, "Now!" He Bites Down and The Glass Bottle Smashes. He Swallows and He Begins Picking Up Speed.

I Nod and Ymir Pulls Christa Out Of Her Mouth. I Turn To Her and I Hook Onto Ymir's Hand and I Ask, "Historia? Are You Alright?" She Chokes and Ymir Pulls Herself Out Of Her Titan's Nape But Stay's Connected.

Ymir Looks At Her and Asks, "Chris… No, Historia. I'm Sorry. I Ate You Our Of No-Where. You Must Be Mad, Right?" Historia Looks At Her and Yells, "Hey! Ymir… What's?! What're You Doing?! We Came To Rescue You and Eren-" Ymir Cuts Her Off and Yells, "I Don't Need You To Rescue Me! Just Say Here and Don't Move!" I Look At Historia and I Ask, "Are You Alright?" She Looks At Me and Asks, "Danielle? W-Why Would You…?" I Look Down and I Say, "I'm Not Proud About What I've Done. Please Forgive Me, Historia. You're The Only Family I Have Left, Aside From Mum and Dad" Historia Leans Forward Slightly To Rest Her Forehead Against Mine and I Whimper and I Pull Her Into A Hug.

Ymir Looks At Her and Yells, "We're Going With Danielle, Reiner and Bertholdt! Both Of Us! Come With Me! There's No Future Inside These Walls!" Historia Raises A Brow and Ymir Continues, "Okay, Historia? It's Not So Bad Outside The Walls. There's No One Out Here…. No One Will Say It'd Be Better If You'd Never Been Born"

Historia Nods and Yells, "Yeah, I Wouldn't Expect The Titans To Tell Me Something Like That! They'd Be Too Busy Trying To Eat Me!" Ymir Growls and Yells, "We All Have Our Short-Comings Right?! They're Not So Bad If You Can Just Ignore That Stuff!" Historia Looks At Her and Asks, "Ymir?! None Of What You're Doing Or Saying Is Making Any Sense At All! It Must Be That Reiner and Bertholdt Forced You To Do This, Right? It Must Be Them Because I Know That Danielle Wouldn't Do That!" Historia Looks At Me and Then Back At Ymir and Bertholdt Breathes, "It's The Other Way Around" She Doesn't Listen To Him and Continues, "That Must Be It, Right?! Right?! I'll Fight Together With You! So Just Let Go! I Don't Care About Your Reasons Or Your Secrets! No Matter What Happens! I'm On Your Side!"

Historia Looks At Me and Asks, "Danielle! You Want That, Don't You? To Save Annie? To Be With Me? As Family Should Be?" I Look Down and I Choke, "I- I'm A Warrior, Historia. Not A Soldier. I Was Pretending For The Past Three Years! I Wanted To Tell You Because I Knew That I Could Trust You! The Idea Of Freedom From All Of This, Living Day After Day With My Cousin and My Best Friend Sounds Like Heaven To Me But…. I Don't Get That Luxury! I Will Die In The Next Few Years, Historia! That's The Horrible Truth! I Am Bound To This Fate By A Fucking Curse and I Can't Change My Fate, No Matter How Hard I Plead!"

Her Eyes Water and Bertholdt Yells, "Ymir! Look, The Survey Corps Is Catching Up! They're Right Behind Us! If We Hadn't Stopped, We Could've Gotten Away Faster. Now They're Going To Catch Us Because We Got Reckless and Brought Christa Along! Ymir… Why?! What Did We Go To All These Lengths For?! Have You Changed Your Mind Again? Have You Decided To Stay Inside This Wall With Christa? Well Ymir?!"

Historia Looks At Her and Yells, "Ymir! Hurry! Let Go!" Ymir Shakes Her Head and Yells, "I Can't!" I Hook Onto Reiner's Head and I Stand Up and Ymir Continues, "Historia… To Be Honest, I Snatched You To Save Myself. A Long Time Ago, I Stole The Titan Power From One Of Their People. Their Power Is Absolute Inside Or Outside The Walls. There's Nowhere For Me To Run. At This Rate, I'm Going To Be Killed. But If I Help In Handing You Over To Them, These Three Said They'd Speak On My Behalf To Get My Crimes Pardoned. It's Because You're So Important To The Wallists, Who Know The Secrets Of The Walls. Back When The World Changed, I Thought That Being With You Would Be Insurance For The Near Future. I Almost Died Fighting At The Tower and I Just Couldn't Take It Anymore. I Was Scared Of Dying… I Wanted Someone To Save Me, Somehow. I Lied and Told You I Was Doing This All For You But Actually, It Was All For My Own Sake. I'm Begging You, Historia… Please! Please Save Me!"

Historia Looks At Her With A Grin and Breathes, Didn't I Just Tell You, Ymir? No Matter What Happens… I'm On Your Side!" She Looks At Me and Breathes, "Danielle? I'm On Your Side Too…. If You'll Have Me" I Look Back At Her, My Expression Heartless and Stoic, All Emotion Being Torn From My Body At The Thought Of What's To Come and I Grunt In Response. Ymir Dives Back Into The Nape Of Her Titan and Fights Off The Survey Corps Soldiers, Hooking Onto Reiner.

I Hear Ymir Roar and I Pull Out My Blades and I Yell, "Reiner! Protect Bert!" Reiner Does As I Command and Mikasa Gets Ready To Kill Ymir. Historia Stops Her and She Yells, "Mikasa, Wait!" Mikasa Hooks Onto The Back Of Reiner's Head and Historia Yells, "Wait! Don't Kill Ymir!" Mikasa Glares At Her and Growls, "I Think That Depends On Her! What Will She Do?! I'll Kill Anyone Who Gets In My Way! Choose!" Historia Shakes Her Head and Yells, "Wait! Danielle, Reiner and Bertholdt Will Kill Ymir Too If She Doesn't Do What They Say! She Doesn't Have A Choice!" Mikasa Sighs and Answers, "There Are Only So Many Lives I Can Value and I Decided Who Those People Were Six Years Ago. So… You Shouldn't Try To Ask For My Pity"

I Look Down At Her and I Ask, "So I Guess That Means That Your Love For Me Was All A Plan To Get Me To Trust You? That's Too Bad. I Was Starting To Believe That We Could Eventually Be More Than Enemies…. Maybe Even Lovers" Mikasa Looks Up At Me and She Asks, "W-What?" I Smirk Down At Her and I Say, "If You Still Want Me, Come Up Here. If You Don't It Will Be Number One Verses Number Six and We'll See Who Wins" Mikasa Climbs Up To Me and Sheath's Her Blades and Pulls Me Into A Kiss.

I Try Not To Gag As I Kiss Back and She Pulls Away and Asks, "Do You Really Think That There Could Be A Future For Us?" I Chuckle, and I Breathe, "You Naïve Little Girl. Have You Learned Nothing About Me?" I Pull Out The Knife In My Back Pocket and I Shove It Into Her Gut and I Lean Towards Her Ear and I Breath, "I'm A Cold, Heartless, Sadistic Killer and You Took Away The Love Of My Life" I Twist The Knife With Each Word and She Chokes Up Blood and It Splatters On My Face and I Watch The Tears Pool In Her Eyes As I Push Her Back. She Rolls Off Of Reiner, Leaving A Blood Trail Down His Back and I Smirk and I See Armin Catch Her.

I Chuckle Cruelly and Historia Says, "Danielle… That Was Cruel" I Push My Blade Into Reiner's Head and I Lean On It and I Say, "You'll Learn Something About Me, Historia. I'm Cruel, Cold, Heartless and Sadistic. It's Who I Am" Mikasa's Blood Drips From My Face and Onto My White Shirt and I Hear, "Eren! Hold Still" I Sigh and Then I Hear, "You're Asking For Too Much There, Bertholdt. You Know It's Impossible To Calm Him Down, Right? He's Loud and Hopeless! Trust Me, I Know! I Hate That About Him Too! We Can Deal With Him Together! C'mon, Just Come Out Of There"

I Hook Onto Reiner's Forehead and I Raise A Brow When I See A Weakened Mikasa Hanging Onto Him. I Chuckle, and I Say, "Wow. Armin Patched You Up Quickly. Sorry Sweetheart, Did It Hurt?" Mikasa Looks Away From Me, Knowing That She Can't Bring Herself To Kill Me and Connie Yells, "Bertholdt, Tell Me It's Not True! Reiner? Danielle? Were You Just Deceiving Us All This Time? How Could You?!"

Jean Pipes Up and Continues, "Wait, Wait A Second…. Are You Just Planning On Running Away Like This? You Guys Can't Do That. Three Years Ago, We Were All Under The Same Roof, Laughing and Crying Together. Hell, Danielle Even Joined In Sometimes. Bertholdt, You Made Bad Sleeping Posture Into An Art Form. We Started Looking Forward To Your New Creation Every Morning! We'd Use It To Predict The Weather! Now, I Can't Believe You Could Sleep At All, Right Next To The Victims Of Your Crimes! Danielle, Your Jokes Were So Bad That They Were Funny! We Would Always Laugh To The Point Of Tears. You Were Our Big Sister! How Could You Do This?! To Us?! To Marco?!"

My Expression Stays Heartless and Stoic and I Say, "I Don't Know. I Guess I Am Just That Cruel" Connie Whimpers and Pipes Up, "Was It All A Lie?! What You Said About How We Could All Survive Together? When You Said We'd Live To Be Old Men, and We'd Go Drinking Together… Was That All A Lie? Tell Me, All Three Of You, What Were You Thinking All This Time?!"

Mikasa Glares At Them and Growls, "None Of That Matters. Just Focus On Taking Off Their Heads. If You Hesitate For Even One Moment, We'll Never Get Eren Back. They're Threats To Humanity. That's All" I Am About To Say Something When Mikasa Pushes A Blade To My Throat and Digs It In.

Our Eyes Meet and I See The Pain In Her Eyes and Bertholdt Cries, "Do You Think That Anyone Wants To Kill People?! What Kind Of Person Would Do This For Fun?! Who Would Want To Do This?! With What We Did... Of Course, You Despise Us and Want To Kill Us! We Can Never Take Any Of It Back But We Could Not Come To Terms With Our Sins. When We Were Pretending To Be Soldiers, It Was A Little Bit Easier. It's Not A Lie, Connie! Jean! It's True That We Deceived You But It Wasn't All Lies! We Really Did Think Of You As Friends! I Know We Don't Have The Right To Apologize But Someone… Please Someone… I'm Begging You… Someone Find Us"

I Look Mikasa In The Eyes and I Ask, "Do You Remember The Time After Training? I Caught My Arm On A Branch During Our ODM Gear Training and It Tore Right Through My Uniform and Cut Right Through My Arm?" She Nods, and I Continue, "Do You Remember Who I Came To When I Was Bleeding So Bad? I Couldn't Find Annie So I Came To You." I Roll Up My Sleeve To Show Her That I Didn't Heal The Scar and I Say, "You Helped Me That Day, Mika. Not Annie, Not Reiner, Not Bertholdt. You. I Regret Everything…. I Really Do and I Know That I Can't Take It Back."

I Look Down At The Blade That Has One Side Coated With My Blood and I Say, "I Never Wanted To Hurt Anyone But It Was The Sole Reason That I Was Born. Not Out Of Love Or Because My Parents Wanted Me, But To Inherit The Power Of The Armoured Wolf Titan and Kill Thousands Of People. We Were Just Kids Who Didn't Know Any Better. I Don't Have Long Left To Live, Mikasa" A Gasp Leaves Her Throat and I Continue, "After Inheriting My Power, My Life Was Shortened To Thirteen Years. I Have Little Over Four Maybe Five Years Left In This Hell. Don't Make Me Leave This Place Before I Can Tell Annie How Much I Love Her… Please"

Mikasa Pulls The Blade Away and She Pulls Me Into A Hug and She Cries Into Her Scarf, That I Know Is Hiding A Pendant With My Family Symbol On It. Tears Drip Down My Face and I Breathe, "Don't Forget Me, Mikasa" She Looks Into My Eyes and Answers, "We May Be, Enemies But I Won't…. I Can't Forget You. You'll Be Plaguing My Thoughts and My Heart Until I Die."

She Pulls Away and I Look At Connie and Jean and I Say, "Don't Hate Me…. Please" They Look At Me and Breathe, "We Won't" I Nod and I Send Armin A Nod and I Say, "Keep An Eye On Annie For Me…. Alright Armin?" He Nods and Answers, "Yeah" I Nod and I Climb Back Up Reiner's Head and I Slide Down His Nape and I Sit There and Sob Into My Arms.


	29. Chapter 29 - Season 2

**The Devils Inside Season 2 – Chapter 4 – I'm Sorry, I've Failed You**

Danielle's PoV

I Wipe Away My Tears, My Face Returning To It's Cold and Heartless Expression and I Hear, "Everyone! Jump Off Right Now!" I Climb Back Onto Reiner's Head and I Feel Someone Grab My Arm. I Turn My Head and I See Mikasa. Her Eyes Plead With Mine and I Shake My Head and I Say, "I'm Sorry, Mikasa. I Can't" She Sighs and Looks At Me Again and Leans Forward.

She Gulps and Asks, "Is This Alright?" I Nod and She Captures My Lips In A Rough Kiss. After A While, She Pulls Away and She Jumps Down and Onto Her Horse. I Pull Out My Blades and I Say, "Hold On, Historia. This Is About To Get Hairy" I Tap Reiner's Head With My Foot and I Hear, "All Units, Disperse! Get Away From The Titans!" I Smirk and Yell, "Reiner! Charge!" He Grunts and Sprints Forward, Crashing Into The Group Of Titans.

He Sends Them Flying But Two Titans Grab His Legs and He Stops. One Tries To Grab Historia But Ymir Roars and Kills It. I Hiss, and Reiner Moves His Hands, Leaving Bertholdt Vulnerable and I Jump Down, Standing In Front Of My Best Friend With My Blades Ready and Reiner Begins Flinging Titans Left and Right.

I Throw My Blades Into The Titans Eyes and I Hear, "All Units! Charge! This Moment Will Decide The Fate Of Humanity! If We Lose Eren, Humans Will Never Again Inhabit This Land! Take Back Eren and Retreat Immediately! Dedicate Your Hearts!" I Hear The Thudding Of Hooves and I Look At Bertholdt and He Shakes His Head and Pleads, "Danielle…. Don't. While Fighting Your Titan Is Vulnerable!" I Nod and Say, "I Know But I'm Running Out Of Options Bert!"

I Hear A Yell Of, "Advance" and Then A Scream Of, "Commander Erwin!" I Hear The Whizzing Of ODM Gear and I See Mikasa. She Tries To Cut Bertholdt But Misses. My Eyes Widen When I See The Titan Below Her and I Yell, "Mikasa! Look Out!" She Gets Grabbed and Her Scream Of Pain Makes A Lump Rise In My Throat.

I Jump Off Of Bertholdt, Biting My Hand In The Process and I Break The Titan's Wrist and I Grab Mikasa Before She Can Fall. I Smash The Titan's Nape In and I Look Down At The Injured Girl In My Hand.

I Give Her To Jean and He Nods At Me and I Jump Out Of My Titan's Nape and I Climb Back Next To Bertholdt and Reiner Shields Us With One Of His Hands. I Let Out A Breath and Bertholdt Growls, "We've Made It This Far! We're Taking Eren With Us and Going Back Home!" I Pull Out My Blades and I Hear, "Danielle! Bertholdt!"

I Turn My Head and I See Armin. I Raise A Brow and I Say, "I Know He's Your Friend, Armin But Let Us Go…. Please!" Armin Smirks In Response and He Asks, "Are You Three Okay With This? You're Going To Go Home and Leave Your Friend Behind?"

A Sharp Intake Of Breath Enters My Throat and He Continues, "You're Leaving Annie Behind? Right Now, Annie's Deep Underground In Utopia District In The Far North Where They're Torturing Her. As Soon As They Heard Her Screams, They Realized The Wounds On Her Body Might Head, But She Can't Make The Pain Go Away. They're Being Careful Not To Kill Her, But They Won't Let Her Rest. At This Moment, They're Inflicting Pain On Her Every Way They Know How…."

Bertholdt Growls and Yells, "Children Of The Devil! I'll Kill Every Last One Of You!" I Shake My Head and I Yell, "He's Lying! She Was In A Crystal When I Left! He's Fucking Bluffing!" I Hear Bertholdt Yell In Pain and I Turn Around and I See Erwin. Eren Falls and I Make A Move To Grab Him But I Grab Bertholdt Instead.

I Look Back At Armin and I Snarl, "I'll Fucking Kill You" Armin Nods and He Answers, "I Know. Annie Will Die First" He Jumps Off Of Reiner and I Say, "Hold On Bertholdt. I've Got You Buddy" He Grabs My Hand and He Chokes, "You Have To Get Annie Back…." I Squeeze His Hand and I Breathe, "She's Fine. I Can Feel Her Pain Remember?" He Lets Out A Sigh Of Relief and I Hear, "All Units, Retreat!"

Reiner Begins Flinging Titans and I Command, "Braun! Enough!" He Doesn't Listen and Bertholdt Looks At Me and He Chuckles, "You Know What Reiner Is Like" I Nod and I Hear His Thudding Footsteps.

I Hear The Screams Of My Former Comrades and I Look Around and I Say, "I've Hurt All Of Them…. We All Have. Annie…. I…. I'm Not Strong Enough To Continue Without Her" Bertholdt Rests His Hand On My Shoulder and He Breathes, "We'll Get Her Back" I Feel The Power Of The Coordinate Run Though My Body and The Titans Begin Running For The Titan Attacking Eren.

I Gulp, and I Say, "Eren Has It! The Coordinate!" Bertholdt Sighs and Reiner Begins Running Towards The Boy. I Gulp, and He Yells, "Stay Back! You Hear Me, You Bastards?! I'll Kill All Of You!" My Eyes Meet Mikasa's and She Mouths, "Don't Go…. Please" I Look Shake My Head and I Mouth, "I'm Sorry" and I Turn Away and I Turn Into My Titan and I Help Reiner Fight The Titans Off and Eventually Ymir Comes To Help Too.

 **Timeskip – Shiganshina District – Wall Maria**

I Look Out Over The District That We Destroyed All Those Years Ago and Ymir Gasps, "Damn It…. Now I've Really Done It…. Why'd I…" Reiner Looks At Her and Asks, "Ymir, Why'd You Come To Our Side?" She Chuckles and Answers, "Well… Must Be Because I'm An Idiot. I'm Here So You'll Have Something To Hand Over. You Guys Can't Go Home Empty-Handed, Right?"

Reiner Sighs and He Breathes, "Do You Understand That There's No Hope Of You Being Rescued If We Go Home From Here? If You're Going To Run… Now's The Time" Ymir Looks At Him and Asks, "What're You Talking About? Dumbass. I'm Tired Out. I've Just Had Enough. I'm Done"

Bertholdt Looks At Her and Asks, "Ymir… Why Did You Rescue Me?" Ymir Sighs and Answers, "Maybe Because I Heard Your Voice…. If You Hadn't Come To Destroy This Wall, I Would've Been Stuck In An Endless Nightmare. All I Did Was Repay A Debt. I'm The Only One Who Knows About Your Situation, Too. I'm The Same Way… I Was Hopeless On My Own" Bertholdt Sighs and Answers, "Thank You, Ymir. I'm Sorry" Ymir Shrugs and Answers, "It's Fine. Being A Goddess Doesn't Feel So Bad, Either. Anyway, It's Not Me That You Should Be Worried About"

She Nods To Me and I Say, "I'm Fine" I Turn Back To Them and I Say, "I'll Be Back Soon" I Begin To Walk Off and Reiner Asks, "Where Are You Going?" I Look At Him and I Say, "I Have To Go To Utopia District…. I Have To Say Goodbye To Her." Bertholdt Shakes His Head and Breathes, "Danielle… No" I Look At Him and I Say, "Bert…. I Can't Continue Without Her" Reiner Stands Up and He Breathes, "We Need The Support Of The Marleyan Army To Get Annie Back. You'll Get Her Back, Just Be Patient" I Am About To Protest But I Sigh and Say, "Fine. We're All Exhausted. It May Be Uncomfortable But I'll Go and Scavenge In Town For Some Stuff. They All Nod and I Jump Off The Wall and I Begin Searching Through The Houses That Are Intact.


	30. Chapter 30 - Season 2

**The Devils Inside Season 2 – Chapter 5 – The War In Shiganshina Part 1**

Danielle's PoV

I Rub My Eyes and I Stretch As I Wake Up On The Wall and I Hear, "Look Who's Awake" I Look Up and I See Zeke. A Grin Spreads On My Face and I Say, "Zeke!" He Jumps Off Of His Titan and He Pulls Me Into A Hug. He Laughs and Answers, "Damn Danielle. It's Been Too Long." I Nod and Say, "I Know. Sorry" He Shrugs and Answers, "It's Alright. I'm Sorry About Annie" I Nod and Say, "Yeah. I Need Time To Gather My Strength and I'll Need The Strength Of The Marleyan Army To Get Her Back. For Now, The Coordinate Is Our Top Priority"

He Nods and I Walk Over To Reiner and Bertholdt and I Say, "One Step Closer To Home. I Haven't Felt Like This Since The Day I Was Chosen To Be A Warrior" Bertholdt Nods and He Answers, "Yeah…." I Rest My Hand On Reiner's Shoulder and I Ask, "Are You Alright Braun?" He Nods, and Zeke Smiles and He Walks Over and Says, "Hey Danielle. You May Have Noticed That Bertholdt and Reiner Are Wearing New Clothes."

He Passes Something To Me and He Continues, "Your Father Had Theses Made Just For You." I Smile and Zeke Stands To Attention and Answers, "Welcome Back, Commander Redwolf" I Smirk, and I Say, "Thanks War-Chief" He Raises A Brow and Asks, "How Did You Know?" I Shrug, and I Say, "I Just Guessed" He Nods, and I Walk Into One Of The Tents and I Change Into My Marleyan Uniform. I Walk Out and I Stand Next To My Friends and I Say, "Ready Guys?" My Childhood Friends Nod and We Watch The Sunset.

 **At Nightfall**

I Sit With Reiner, Bertholdt and Zeke and He Says, "Like I Told You, Little Annie Should Be Fine. Trust Me, She's Not Being Tortured. Could You Really See That Happening? With Our Abilities, All It Takes Is A Single Injury To Take Care Of Just About Any Situation. Not Only That, This Is Annie We're Talking About. She Knows How To Take Care Of Herself. She's Probably In Hiding Somewhere, Practicing Her Kicks"

I Look At Him and I Ask, "Zeke? What Do You Know About The Female Titans Ability To Crystalize Its Holder?" He Sighs and Answers, "Next To Nothing I'm Afraid. Why?" I Stand Up With A Sigh and I Say, "That's It Then? She's Gone For Good. I Was There In Stohess That Day. She Fused Her Titan With Eren's and She Crystalized Herself"

Zeke Raises A Brow and Asks, "and You Didn't?" I Shake My Head and I Say, "I Have Always Considered That Ability To Be A Last Resort. Anyway, Annie and I Made A Promise To Each Other and I Didn't Want To Let Her Down"

He Nods and Says, "Danielle. Choose Your Side" I Look At Him and I Choke, "W-What?" He Crosses His Arms and Repeats, "Choose Your Side. Marley Or Annie" I Cross My Arms and I Answer, "Marley" He Nods and Reiner Answers, "Even If What Either Of You Said Is True. They Definitely Know Her Identity" Bertholdt Nods and Answers, "Even Annie Could Not…." Zeke Nods and Answers, "I See. Then What Exactly Was That Decision We Made The Other Day? I Don't Mind Doing It Again, Reiner. But If You Lose Next Time, You're Going To Have To Give That Armour To The Next Warrior"

Reiner Shakes His Head and Stammers, "N-No That's Not What I Meant" Zeke Nods and Growls, "Then Get It Together. We Have One Goal, Right? Regain The Coordinate Here and Put A Stop To This Cursed History. Let's Just End This. I Want Us To End It"

Bertholdt Nods and Answers, "Fine. We'll Forget About Annie For Now. We Don't Need To Put Any More People Through This Hell. Let's Just End It" I Nod and Say, "I'm Ready If You Are Bertholdt" Reiner Looks At Us and Breathes, "Danielle…. Bertholdt"

I Smirk, and I Hear, "War-Chief Zeke" I Shoot Up At That Voice and I Say, "I Know That Voice!" I Walk Over To The Edge Of The Wall and I Say, "Pieck! Long Time No See!" The Titan Nods At Me and Answers, "You Look Well Danielle" I Grin and Zeke Asks, "What Is It?" Pieck Looks At Him and Answers, "Large Enemy Forces Approaching. They've Passed The Base. They Have Stopped To Rest Though So They Should Be Here In Two To Three Days" Zeke Nods

He Turns Back To Us and We Clink Out Mugs Together and Zeke Looks At Me and Asks, "How Long Would It Take You To Get To The District Where Annie Is?" I Smirk and Say, "A Day, Tops. In Total It Would Be A Day There and A Day Back" Zeke Nods and Answers, "Do It. We'll Need Her" I Nod and Say, "Got It" Bertholdt Pulls Me Into A Hug and Reiner Does The Same. I Smile and Bertholdt Breathes, "Good Luck" I Nod and Say, "I'll Be Back Soon" They Nod and I Jump Off The Wall, Transform and Run Off Towards Utopia District.

 **At Utopia District**

After Entering Utopia District, I Sneak Through The Backstreets and I Make My Way Underground. I Push Open The Cell Door and I Walk Over To The Crystal and I Breathe, "I've Never Tried This Before…. Let's Hope It Works" I Take A Deep Breath and When I Exhale, Fire Comes Out Of My Mouth and It Hits The Crystal.

Keeping My Concentration, I See The Crystal Begin To Melt. I Smirk and I Hear The Cell Open. I Throw My Hand Back and Small Spears Fire Out Of My Fingers Like They Would Do In My Titan Form and I Hear The Person Groan.

When The Crystal Is Melted, I Pull Annie Out Of It and I Hear Her Cough Slightly. I Caress Her Face With My Thumb and I Say, "I've Got You." I Hoist Her Onto My Back and I Tie Her There Using A Strip Of Cloth From My Shirt Sleeves. I Smirk At The Guy Who I Pinned Against The Wall and I Take The Spear Out Of His Hand and I Shove It Into His Throat.

He Gurgles On His Own Blood and I Walk Out Of The Cell and Back Out Of The District The Way I Came. Once I Get Far Enough Away, I Take Annie Off My Back and I Ask, "Hey Annie? You Alright?" She Nods and Rubs Her Eyes and Asks, "What Happened?" I Kiss Her Forehead and I Say, "You've Been In A Crystal For Around Four Days" Annie Opens Her Eyes and She Asks, "How Did You Get Me Out?" I Smile and Say, "I Was Able To Transfer My Titan Powers To My Human Form and Using My Fire Breath, I Melted It" Annie Nods and Asks, "Where Are We Going?" I Grin and Say, "Shiganshina District. Come On" I Take Her Hand and I Let Out A Loud Whistle.

I Hear The Sound Of Hooves and I Turn My Head To See My Horse Sprinting Full Speed At Us. I Grin and I Help Annie Onto His Back and I Climb On and I Ask, "You Have Your Ring, Right?" Annie Holds Up Her Finger With A Smirk and I Say, "Alright. Let's Go" and We Ride Towards Shiganshina.

 **Halfway To Shiganshina District**

I Lie On The Tree Branch With Annie In My Arms and I Ask, "Comfortable?" Annie Nods and Breathes, "Yeah. Are You?" I Nod and Say, "Yeah" I Run A Hand Through Her Hair and I Murmur, "We Leave At Nightfall. Once We Get Back To The Wall Then We Will Have At Least 24 Hours To Prepare" Annie Nods and She Nuzzles Into Me and We Both Doze Off.

A Few Hours Later, I Wake Up Just As The Moon Peaks Over The Horizon and I Nudge Annie and She Lifts Her Head and Murmurs, "Time To Go?" I Nod, and I Say, "Yeah" I Help Her Up and She Climbs Onto My Back and I Jump Off The Tree and Back Onto My Horse and We Continue On Our Way To Shiganshina District.

 **At Shiganshina District**

Once We Arrive At The Wall, I Dismount My Horse and Annie Climbs Onto My Back and I Climb Up The Wall. I Smirk, and I Yell, "Her Bertholdt! Look Who I've Got!" Bertholdt Turns To Us and He Yells, "Annie!" Annie Smiles At Him and Bertholdt Runs Up To Us and Pulls Us Into A Hug.

He Chokes On The Tears Running Down His Face and He Asks, "Did They Hurt You?!" Annie Shakes Her Head and Answers, "No. I'm Alright" He Nods, and I Say, "Let Her Rest Bert. I Got Here Earlier Than I Said So We Still Have Over 24 Hours To Prepare For Them"

Bertholdt Nods and He Presses A Kiss To Annie's Forehead and Then To Mine and Annie Smiles. I Smile and Breathe, "We Will All Get Out Of Here. I Promise" Annie Kisses My Cheek and Bertholdt Nods and Answers, "I'll Make Sure Of It. You're My Family, Blood Or Otherwise. You Always Have Been" I Grin, and I Say, "Love You Too Brother" I Ruffle His Hair and He Laughs. Annie Lets Her Walls Fall and She Laughs Along With Us.

Zeke Walks Over and He Says, "Nice To See You Annie" She Smiles and Answers, "You Too, Zeke" He Smiles and Answers, "The Tents Are Over There. You and Danielle Have One To Yourselves" We Both Nod and I Take Her Over To The Tent.

I Kiss Her Forehead and I Say, "You Get Some Rest. I'll Be Keeping Watch With Reiner and Bertholdt" Annie Shakes Her Head and Answers, "No. I'm Fine. I Just Have To Train More" I Sigh But Nod and I Say, "I'll Do It With You" She Nods and Sheds Her Jacket and She Drags Me Away From The Tent and We Begin Sparring.

She Pins Me To The Wall With Her Knee On My Chest and She Smiles Down At Me With A Cheeky Look In Her Eyes. I Smile, and I Say, "You Look Gorgeous When You Smile" I Caress Her Cheek With My Thumb and Annie Rolls Her Eyes and I Say, "I Mean It Annie. You Look Beautiful" A Blush Tints Her Cheek and She Breathes, "No I Don't. I'm Just Plain Me" I Flip Her Over and I Say, "and Plain You Is Beautiful To Me. You Are All I've Ever Wanted and All I've Ever Needed" Annie Looks Into My Eyes and I Say, "What Did I Tell You, All Those Years Ago?" Annie Sighs and Answers, "You Said That I Was Drop Dead Gorgeous, Badass and Intelligent. You Also Said That Anyone Would Be Lucky To Have Me" I Nod, and I Say, "I'm Lucky To Have You"

Annie Sighs and Answers, "How Can I Believe You When Mikasa Told Me Something Completely Different?" I Growl and Ask, "What Did She Tell You?" Annie Averts Her Gaze and She Answers, "Mikasa Told Me That I Am A Useless, Ugly Waste Of Space That You Will Never Love. She Also Said That You Want Someone Who Is Filled Out In All The Right Places and Not Someone Like Me" I Stroke Annie's Face and I Say, "Baby, That's Not True. Mikasa Is Just A Jealous Bitch. You Have Me and She Doesn't and That's The Way It'll Stay. I Love You More Than Anything"

I Sit Up, Pulling Her Onto My Lap and I Say, "Hey. Look At Me" Annie Looks At Me and I Say, "You Trust Me…. Don't You?" I Take Her Hand In Mine and She Nods and Answers, "Of Course I Do" I Nod and Say, "You Know What I'd Do For You. Don't You?" Annie Nods and Answers, "Yes" I Pull Her Into A Kiss and I Murmur, "I'd Kill For You, You Know That?" Against Her Lips.

She Nods and Murmurs, "I Know" I Pull Away and I Say, "Fuck What Mikasa Said About You. Everything About You Is Perfect For Me" I Kiss Her Jaw and Annie Answers, "You're Just Saying That" I Look Into Her Eyes and I Ask, "What Will Make You Believe Me?" Annie Pulls Me Into A Kiss and She Wraps Her Arms Around My Neck and I Rest My Hands On Her Hips.

She Deepens The Kiss By Tangling Her Hands In My Hair and I Hear, "C'mon Love Birds. That's Enough" I Flip Reiner Off and He Sighs and Walks Back Over To Zeke Who Is Laughing Along With Bertholdt.

I Pull Away With A Blush Tinting My Cheeks and I Rest My Forehead Against Annie's With A Smile and She Says, "We Should Probably Rest So That We're Ready For Tomorrow" I Nod, and I Say, "Alright" We Both Stand Up and Walk Over To Our Tent and We Curl Up and Fall Asleep.


	31. AN - Deviantart folder!

**So this isn't an update but the next chapter is still in the works so that will take a few days (considering I lost the word document but that's not the point). I recently started doing digital art so, I decided to dedicate a whole folder on my Deviantart to my Oc x Canon ship LeoWolf.**

 **Just search PrinceWolf232 on Deviantart and you'll find me so yeah. Be sure to leave any art request for LeoWolf, in the comments on one of those pictures and i'll try my best in doing them!**


	32. Chapter 32 - Season 2

**The Devils Inside Season 2 – Chapter 6 – The War In Shiganshina Part 2**

Danielle's PoV

I Cross My Arms As I Watch Over The Horizon and I Hear, "Anything?" I Shake My Head and I Say, "No. Pieck Says That Their Close Though" Annie Nods and She Asks, "Are You Alright?" I Look At Her and I Nod and Answer, "Yeah" I Turn Back To The Horizon With A Sigh and Annie Takes One Of My Hands, That Is Wrapped Around My Mug Of Tea, In Hers and She Says, "We'll Be Fine. I Promise" I Squeeze Her Hand and I Say, "It's Not Me I'm Worried About. Levi Will Be Here and I Don't Want To Lose You To Him. After His Squad, He's Going To Have A Personal Vendetta Against Both Of Us"

Annie Rests Her Forehead Against My Arm and She Answers, "I'm Not Leaving You Again. I Swear" I Look At Her and I Am About To Reply When Annie Looks Into My Eyes and Answers, "If We Don't Win, We Die. If We Win, We Live and The Only Way To Live Is To Fight" I Smirk, and I Hear, "Danielle! Annie!" I Turn Around and I See Bertholdt. I Raise A Brow and He Answers, "Time To Go" I Nod and I Down My Drink, Savouring The Burn As It Flows Down My Throat and Once It Is Empty, I Throw It Over The Edge Of The Wall.

I Tie Up My Boots and I Check My Gear and I Command, "Let's Go!" My Comrades Nod and We Begin Jogging Towards The Gate. We Stop At The Gate and I Turn To Bertholdt and I Say, "Bertholdt, I Don't Know How Many Times I've Said This Already But The Four Of Us Are Going To Be In Separate Positions, So Imagine That I Am There With You and Think and Act On Your Own, Okay?" He Nods and Answers, "Yeah" I Nod and Continue, "You Can't Always Wait For Me To Give You Orders." He Nods and Answers, "Yeah, I Know" I Rest My Hand On His Shoulder and I Say, "You're Supposed To Be The Strongest Of All, But You Always Leave The Job To Others When It Matters. That Ends Today, Understand?" He Nods and Answers, "Understood"

Annie Smirks and Asks, "We're Going To End This, Right? Here and Now?" Bertholdt Nods and Answers, "That's Right! We'll Win Here and Put An End To It!" The Confidence In His Voice Makes Me Smirk and I Hear, "That's It!" Reiner Walks Over and He Pulls Bertholdt Into A Kiss and He Murmurs, "See You Soon Bert" Bertholdt Nods and Reiner Drops Down and Hides In A Hollow Spot. I Punch Bertholdt's Shoulder and I Say, "I'm Counting On You Brother. Don't Let Me Down" He Nods and Answers, "Leave It To Me. I'll Get It Done" I Nod and He Jumps Off One Side Of The Wall and I Jump Off The Other Side With Annie In Tow.

We Climb Into The Hollow Point and Reiner Closes It Up. I Let Out A Breath and I Say, "Who Would've Thought That Our Final Stand Would Be Here?" Annie Smirks and Answers, "We're Gonna End This Once and For All. We Are Going To Defeat Them In The Place It All Started Three Years Ago"

Reiner Nods and He Answers, "We'll Beat Them Here and Send Them Running Back Into Whatever Hole They Came Crawling Out Of. Our First Victory Will Be Here" I Nod and I Hear The Whizzing Of ODM Gear and Then The Sound Of A Titan Transforming. I Press A Finger To My Lips and We Sit and Wait.

I Hear Swords Tapping On The Wall and Then I Hear A Muffled Signal Flare Being Fired and Then A Muffled, "Here! There's A Hollow Point, Here!" Reiner Smirks and He Pushes Open The Hollow Point and Stabs The Guy In The Chest.

The Guy Falls and I Hear, "There He Is! There's Reiner!" I Look At Annie and After A Few Minutes, I Hear Reiner Transform. Using The Steam From His Titan As Cover, Annie and I Launch Ourselves Out Of The Hollow Point and Onto A Roof.

I Smirk, and I Hear, "Look! There's Danielle! and…. Annie's With Her!" I Smirk and I Hear The Sound Of Other Titans Transforming and I Wrap My Arm Around Annie's and I Bite The Ring On Her Finger and She Bites The Ring On My Finger.

We Both Transform and I Hear A Loud Crash. Reiner Stands Up and He Begins Climbing Up The Wall. I Nod At Annie and I Hear, "Squad Levi and Squad Hanji! Take Down The Armoured Titan! Leave The Armoured Wolf and Female Titans For Now! At Squad Leaders' Discretion, Us The Thunder Spears! Carry Out Your Objective By Any Means Necessary!" A Growl Sounds From My Throat and I Think, _'Thunder Spears? The Fuck?!'_ I Hear A Lightning Strike and I Turn My Head and I See Eren. Eren Glares At Us and He Turns Around and Sprints Away.

I Materialize My Sword and I Run After Him With Annie Following Behind. I Roar At Him and He Stops. He Turns Around and Gets In His Stance and Annie Does The Same. I Get In My Sword Stance and He Begins Throwing Punches. I Smirk and I Throw My Wings Forwards, The Feathers Flying Off Of Them and Impaling His Titan and I Hear Thudding Behind Me. I Narrow My Eyes and Eren Hardens His Fists and Annie Does The Same.

Reiner Swings At Him, Eren Dodges and Swings His Fist and Slams It Into The Side Of Reiner's Face. Reiner Pushes Him Away and I Kick Him So Hard That He Goes Flying Back Into A Building. He Stands Up With A Roar and He Runs At Me. Annie Swings Her Leg Around and It Hits Him In The Abdomen and He Goes Flying Back.

Reiner Straddles Him and Slams His Fist Into His Face Several Times and Eren Pushes Reiner Off and He Stands Up. Reiner Rises To A Crouching Position and Goes For Eren's Leg. Eren Lifts It and Reiner Dives For His Other Leg. Reiner Lifts Eren Up and Slams Him Into Several Buildings. Eren Gets Reiner Into A Headlock and Sends Reiner Flying Backwards.

I Hear A Yell Of, "Now!" and I See The Survey Corps. I Nudge Annie and We Sprint Away Leaving Reiner To Fend For Himself. I Look Back and I Think, _'Sorry Reiner'_ We Jump Out Of Our Titan's Napes and Land On A Building and Annie Asks, "What Do We Do Now?" I Sigh, and I Say, "We Sit and Wait For Bertholdt" I Hear An Explosion and I Look Up and I See Reiner Come Out Of The Nape With Half Of His Head Missing. I Gulp and Annie Asks, "How Is He Supposed To Give The Signal Now?" I Shrug, and I Answer, "No Idea" A Lightbulb Goes Off In My Mind and I Say, "Unless He Is Going To Hook His Nervous System Up To His Titan's Brain and Give The Signal That Way…. It's A Risky Move But We Know What Reiner Is Like. Risk Is His Middle Name and If It Means A Victory For Marley Then He Will Do It" Annie Sighs and Answers, "He's An Idiot" I Nod, and I Say, "Yeah" As If On Cue I Hear A Roar Come From The Armoured Titan and I Say, "Bertholdt Will Be Coming Over In Three, Two, One…"

I See A Barrel Come Flying Into View and I See Bertholdt Fall Out. I Smirk, and I Say, "There He Is!" I Fire Spikes Into A Soldier Who Just Came Running At Us and I Say, "Let's Go!" Annie Nods and We Use Our ODM Gear To Get Over To Bertholdt. We Land Next To Him and Armin Yells, "Danielle! Annie! Bertholdt! Stop Right There!"

Armin Looks At Us and He Yells, "Let's Talk This Out!" Bertholdt Smirks and Asks, "If We Talk , Will You All Agree To Die?! We Only Have Two Demands! We Want You To Give Us Eren and We Want All Of Humanity Inside The Walls To Be Wiped Out! That's Just How Reality Is, Armin! Everything Has Already Been Decided!" She Looks At Me and I Nod With A Smirk.

Armin Looks At Him and Asks, "B-By Who?! Who Decided That?!" I Smirk, and I Yell, "I Decided It! Your Lives Are Coming To An End, Right Here!" Armin Glares At Us and He Yells, "You Don't Have To Do This!" Bertholdt Stiffens and I Chuckle and Armin Looks At Me and Yells, "Danielle! You're Historia's Cousin! She Could Pardon You and Make You One Of Her Protectors! Just Join Us and You Will Be Safe!" Bertholdt Growls and Yells, "Nothing You Can Say Will Make Us Change Our Minds! We Are Ending This Once and For All!"

He Jumps Off The Roof and Towards Armin and Annie and I Follow. Bertholdt Smirks and Yells, "This Is Where Your Pathetic Life Ends! I'll Take The Greatest Pleasure In Carving Out Mikasa's Eyes For The Pain That She Put Us Through!" Armin Scrambles To Get Away and I Ask, "Where Are You Going Armin? Aren't We Going To Talk?"

Armin Stops and Bertholdt Asks, "Did You Really Think That We Would Leave Annie Behind?! Did You Really Think You'd Be Able To Talk Meek, Obedient Bertholdt Into Letting His Guard Down?"

We Begin Walking Towards Armin With Our Blades Drawn and I Continue, "But Really, You're Not Doing This For Either Reason. You're Just Buying Time So That You Can Surround Us With Soldiers While The Others Can Go and Kill Reiner. It's All Meaningless" Bertholdt Nods and Continues, "I Know, So Long As You're Standing There, Shaking, You Can't Do A Damned Thing."

Armin Gulps and Asks, "If You've Figured That Much Out, Why Did You Agree To Talk?" Bertholdt Thinks For A Moment Then Answers, "I Wanted To Make Sure. I Thought That When I Showed Up, You Might Start Whining and Begging For Mercy Again But It Looks Like You're Fine Now. Yeah. You're All Cherished Friends, and You're Really Trying To Kill Us"

Armin Sighs and Asks, "Is That Because We're 'Descendants Of Devils'?" Bertholdt Shakes His Head and Answers, "Oh, No. None Of You Have Done Anything Wrong and You're Not Devils" I Cut Him Off and I Say, "It's Just That You All Have To Die. There's Nothing You Can Do Now" Armin Nods and Asks, "Fine. Before I Die, Danielle…. Why Did You Do This? I Thought We Were Friends" I Laugh, and I Say, "We Were Never Friends. I Just Got A Kick Out Of Making You Believe Something That Wasn't True and As For Why? Well, Because You Devils Deserve It"

Annie Smirks and Armin Nods and I Hear The Whizzing Of ODM Gear. I Shield Annie and Bertholdt From Mikasa and While She Is Distracted By The Smirk On Annie's Face, I Swing My Leg Around and I Kick Her In The Side Of The Head. Mikasa Goes Flying Off The Side Of The Building and I Yell, "Bertholdt! Now!"

He Nods and Yells, "Roger!" As He Runs Across The Roof. He Stops Mikasa's Anchor With His Blade and I Yell, "We Go For Reiner! Now!" Annie and Bertholdt Nod and We Head For Reiner. I Tap Bertholdts Back and I Point Upwards. He Smirks and Throws Himself Upwards. Annie and I Do The Same and We Both Transform As The Same Time As Bertholdt. I Roar and I Scramble Up The 60 Meter Titan's Body With Annie Following and We Survey The Area.

Armin's PoV

I Keep My Eyes Locked Onto Bertholdt and I Hear, "How Is Annie Here Now!?" I Turn Around and I Say, "Danielle Must Have Gone To Utopia District A Few Days Before This Battle and Gotten Annie Out Of Her Crystal."

Jean's Eyes Widen and He Asks, "How?! Even My Blades Couldn't Penetrate That Thing!" I Nod, and I Say, "I Suspect That Danielle Transferred Her Fire Breath Ability To Her Human Form and She Melted It" Connie Raises A Brow and Asks, "Can She Do That?!" Mikasa Nods and Answers, "Yeah. After She Was Pulled From Her Titan In Stohess, Danielle's Titan Wasn't Given Enough Time To Retract Her Wings So In Her Human Form, Her Wings Were Retracting Into Her Back, Leaving Deep Scars" Jean Nods and Answers, "I Remember That"

Bertholdt Begins Throwing Houses and Connie Says, "H-Hey… Those Houses. They're Falling From The Sky. All Those Homes…. So High Up. One Of Them Might Be Yours, Eren. Tell Me, How Does It Feel To Have Your Own Roof Above Your Head Again?!" Connie Starts Laughing and Jean Asks, "Sasha, Could You Hit Connie For Us?" Sasha Nods and Hits Him Over The Head.

Levi's PoV

I Sigh, and I Hear, "This Side's Mopped Up. There's Just The Small Ones Ahead Of Us On The Left. But How Are We Supposed To Take Down The Beast Titan? He's Just Sitting Over There. He Hasn't Even Made A Move" I Nod and Say, "Yeah… Seems Like We Have A Coward Here. Well, I Guess That Thing Never Had Any Balls To Begin With"

The Soldiers Take Off and One Yells, "You Stay Back and Rest! We'll Take Care Of The Small Ones For Now! Let's Go!" I Turn Around and I Hiss, "Damn It" and I Think, 'That Explosion Just Now…. What's Happening To Them Over There? The Beast Threw That Barrel With Bertholdt Inside Over There But It Didn't Explode Immediately So Were Hanji and The Others Able To Get Out Of The Way? In Any Case, I Need To Get Over There Soon' A Rock Flies Past Me and I Shield Myself As A Barrage Of Rocks Come Flying At Me.

Zeke's PoV

I Hum, and I Say, "Hmm, Ball One. Just A Little Too High" I Hear The Rolling Of Rocks and I Turn My Head and I Say, "Oh. Leave Those There" I Grab A Rock and I Break It In Half and I Crush One Half In My Fist and I Say, "Well, The First Pitch Is Just A Warmup. I'm Going For A Perfect Game" The Throw The Rocks and I Watch As The Soldiers Get Slaughtered.

Danielle's PoV

I Smirk When I See Bertholdt Kick Eren Into The Wall and I Roar. Annie Nods At Me and We Jump Off Of Bertholdt and Run Towards Reiner. Halfway There, An Explosion Sounds and I See Reiner Walking Towards Us.

I Grin and I Watch As Annie Hardens Her Wrists. I Do The Same and Reiner Points To Bertholdt. I Nod and I Nudge Annie's Shoulder and I Nod Towards Bertholdt. She Nods and We Run Towards Bertholdt.

Halfway To Bertholdt I Hear An Explosion From Behind Us. I Turn Around and I Watch As Reiner's Head Explodes. I Growl and I Hear A Loud Crash. I Turn Around and I See Bertholdt Fall. I Roar In Anger and Annie Grabs My Wrist and I Get The Message and We Run Toward The Wall and We Scale It. After Jumping Off The Other Side, We Run For Zeke and Pieck.

I Jump Out Of My Titan Form With Annie Doing The Same and I Yell, "They Have Bertholdt and Reiner! We Have To Go and Get Them!" Zeke Nods and He Answers, "We Will. Nice To See You Annie" She Nods and Answers, "You Too Zeke" Annie Takes My Hand and Pieck Begins Climbing The Wall.

She Jumps Over To Eren and Eren Holds His Blade To Bertholdts Throat and He Growls, "Don't Even Think About Taking Another Step! If It Means Keeping Him Out Of Your Hands, I'll Kill Him" Zeke Gulps and Asks, "Are You Eren Yeager?" Eren Growls and Digs The Blade Into Bertholdts Neck and Zeke Continues, "You Don't Look Anything Like Your Father…." Eren Looks At Him and Asks, "What?" Zeke Gulps and Continues, "You Have To Believe Me. I Know What You're Going Through. We Were Both Victims Of Your Father. He's Brainwashed You"

I Make A Move To Jump Off Of Pieck But She Grabs Me In Her Mouth and I Yell, "Let Go Of Me!" Zeke Sighs and Answers, "Bertholdt… I'm Sorry, But It Looks Like This Is The End For You" I Struggle, and I Yell, "No! Bertholdt!" Bertholdt Stirs and I Reach For Him and Pieck Begins Running Away.

I Struggle Harder and Pieck Throws Me Onto Her Back and Annie Grabs Me. I Glare At Zeke and I Snap, "As Your Commander, I Order You To Go Back For Him!" Zeke Sighs and Answers, "I'm Sorry. I Can't Do That. Your Father Ordered Me To Get You Home Safe" I Growl and Yell, "Fuck My Father! Bertholdt Is My Brother! I've Considered Him Family For Years!"

I Struggle In Annie's Grasp and She Pleads, "Danielle! Calm Down! Please!" I Shake My Head and I Say, "I'll Be Calm When We Have Bertholdt and Reiner Back!" I Jump Off Of Pieck's Back and I Transform As I Jump Off The Wall. I Run Towards The Lightning Strike and I See A Mindless Armin About To Eat Bertholdt.

I Swipe Bertholdt Out Of Armin's Grasp and I Sprint Off, With Eren's Yell Of, "No!" Reaching My Ears. I Climb Up Onto The Wall and I Place Bertholdt Onto Pieck's Back and I Climb Out Of My Titan. I Sit Next To Bertholdt and Zeke Asks, "Reiner…. You're Incredibly Lucky, You Know That?" Bertholdt Chokes and I Turn To Him and I Ask, "Bertholdt? Are You Alright?!" His Tired Eyes Meet Mine and He Asks, "You Came Back For Me?" I Nod, and I Say, "Always, Brother. I Wasn't Going To Leave You Here" He Nods and Rasps, "Let's Go Home…. Please? I Don't Want To Be Here Any Longer" Zeke Nods and I Haul Reiner Onto Pieck's Back and She Jumps Off The Wall and Sprints Home.


	33. Chapter 33 - Season 2

**The Devils Inside Season 2 – Chapter 7 – Out Of The Frying Pan and Into The Fire**

A Year After Chapter 6

Falco's PoV

I Lie On The War Ridden Ground As I Watch A Bird Fly Over and I Raise My Arm and I Say, "Hey, You. It's Dangerous Here. Go Fly Somewhere Far Away. You've Got Wings, So Use 'Em" I Let Out A Shaky Breath As My Head Throbs and I Hear, "Falco!" A Shadow Appears Over Me and I Hear, "You're Alive?! Hey! Are You Hurt?!" My Eyes Focus and I See Me Older Brother. I Hum and Ask, "Brother, What's Going On? Why Are You Dressed That Way?"

Colt Shrugs Off My Questions and He Places His Helmet On My Head and He Says, "C'mon, Grab On. I'm Just Glad To Hear Your Voice" He Picks Me Up and Begins Running. The Machine Gun In The Bunker Starts Firing At Us and Colt Slides Into The Trench and I Hear, "Falco!" I Turn My Head and I See Udo and Gabi and Gabi Asks, "Show Me Where They Got You!"

I Groan and Magath Asks, "How Does It Look Colt?" Colt Looks At Him and Answers, "The Warrior Unit On The Front Line Took A Direct Shell Hit and Was Blown Away!" Magath Nods and Asks, "and The Trenches?" Colt Grimaces and Orders, "You Can't Dig Any Farther!" Magath Chuckles and Asks, "I Can't? Is That An Order? Are You Trying To Give Me Orders, Eldian?"

One Of The Soldiers Next To Him Growls, "Watch Your Tone With Commander Magath, Scum!" Zofia Looks At Me and Asks, "Are You Drunk, Falco?" I Groan and Ask, "What Are We Doing Here?" Gabi Sighs and Answers, "He Must've Hit His Head"

Gabi's PoV

Udo Looks At Falco and Answers, "We've Been At War For Four Years. Do You Remember?" He Pours Water Over Falco's Head Wound and Falco Answers, "Huh? Oh… I Guess So?" I Sigh and Answer, "Looks Like We're Going To Have To Explain The Operation To You All Over Again. Just Listen To Me, Falco. This War That's Consumed Our Last Four Years, It's Finally Coming To An End. All We Have To Do Is Capture Fort Slava. Well, To Be Exact, We Just Have To Sink The Mid-EAST Allied Forces' Fleet In The Naval Station Right Below It and Then We'll Have One This War For Marley But Fort Slava Defends The High Ground Overlooking The Naval Station. It's Impossible To Attack The Station Without Control Of The Fort"

Zofia Sighs and Asks, "Can't The Marley Navy Attack From The Sea?" Udo Growls and Yells, "Zofia?! Do You Really Think That We Can Count On That Navy To Do A Thing For Us?! That Cesspool Of Incompetence That Took Four Whole Years To Take Control Of The Seas?!"

He Tightens The Bandage Around Falco's Head and Continues, "Their First Accomplishment Worth A Damn! and It Cost Them More Than Half Of All Those Battle Ships! And They Have The Nerve To Tell Us In The Army That We Need To At Least Take Down A Fort For Them Before They Can Do A Thing? Like It's Nothing?! Give Me A Break, You Bastards!"

I Hit Udo On The Head With A Dormant Grenade and I Yell, "Udo! Stop! You're Going To Rip Falco's Head Off!" Udo Stops Tightening The Bandage and He Apologizes and Falco Asks, "Why Have They Sent Us To The Front Lines? We're Just Candidates" I Smirk and Answer, "Can't You Tell? It's So They Can Figure Us Out. Which One Of Us Will Be The Next Warrior. The Time Is Coming Soon. Commander Magath Has Decided That This Is Where Our Final Exam Will Be Held. He Has His Eye On What's Coming Next. Whoever He Chooses Will Be Essential In Suppressing The Island Of Paradis. The Heir To The Armoured, Armoured Wolf, Female and Colossus Titans. Which One Of Us Is Going To Be Chosen."

Falco Looks At Me and Asks, "Oh Yeah, Gabi? You're Making It Sound Like No One Here Could Even Be Compared To You." I Smirk and Answer, "Well, Who Could? Commander Redwolfs Mother, General Redwolf, Has Told Me That I Remind Her Of Commander Redwolf When She Was That Age. Of Course, I Have A Long Way To Go Until I Reach Commander Redwolfs Skill Level But Anyway, That's Not The Point"

Zofia Smirks and Answers, "Don't Get Cocky, Gabi" Udo Nods and Answers, "One Look At Your Grades" I Growl and Answer, "No, Udo. It's Not About Grades! Aren't I Always Telling You? What Makes Me Different From All Of You Is, I'm Prepared. Prepared To Carry The Fate Of All Eldians On My Shoulders and Slaughter All The Devils On That Island Who've Caused Us So Much Suffering. Every Last One Of Them. I'll Win That Fight and Prove It To The Whole World. That The Only Eldians Left Are Good Eldians. I'm Not Going To Lose. I'll Free Everyone From The Internment Zone"

Falco Raises A Brow and Asks, "So What Have You Been Fiddling With All This Time?" I Hold Up Some Grenades and I Say, "This? Cool, Huh?"

Magath's PoV

I Look Away From Colt and He Asks, "Why Commander Magath?" I Look At Him With A Raised Brow and He Continues, "It's Impossible For Infantry Like Us To Destroy The Tracks Behind That Machine Gun On Our Own. They have Eyes All Along That Trench. There Isn't A Single Crack In Their Defences. On Top Of All That, They Have Artillery Supporting Them From The Fort. If We Stay Here, We're Just Waiting For Them To Start Raining Shells Down On Our Heads."

I Smirk and Answers, "Sounds Like You Have An Idea, Colt" He Nods and Answers, "Let The Jaws, Female and Cartman Loose Here. Galliard, Leonhardt and Pieck Should Be Able To Do It. They'd Be Able To Wipe Out The Enemies In Pillbox and The Trench In The Blink Of An Eye." I Shake My Head and I Answer, "No. We Lose If We Play Our Cards In The Wrong Order"

The Soldier Next To Me Looks At Me and Says, "Commander. It's Here" Colt Raises A Brow and Asks, "What Is…?" I Cut Him Off and Answer, "It. The Armoured Train. Four Guns On Its Front and Back Cars. The Allies' New Weapon, The Anti-Titan Artillery. The 100mm Armor-Piercing Shells They Fire Would Stop A Titan In One Shot" Colt Gulps and States, "But All Three Of Our Titans Are Quick. To Actually Hit Their Necks-" I Look At Him and Ask, "But If That Does Happen?" Colt Looks Down and Answers, "We Will Lose The Power Of A Titan, As Well As A Warrior and There Is No Guarantee That We'll Be Able To Regain The Power Of That Titan"

I Nod and Answer, "That's Right. Our Nine-Year-Long Plan To Regain The Founder Will Come To An End, and The Tables Will Be Turned On Us. Not To Mention If Annie Is So Much As Harmed Then What She Experienced, My Daughter Will Do To You. If Any Of Our Titan's Are Killed Or Destroyed, Then That Will Be Perceived As A Blow To Marley's Military Readiness Thus Triggering Another War and Delaying The Paradis Operation Even Further. What Makes Our Motherland Of Marley The Great Empire It Is Today?"

Colt Looks At Me and Answers, "The Power Of The Titans" I Nod and Answer, "That's Right. If We Lose Any Of Them, This Country Won't Be Able To Sustain Itself Any Longer. If My Daughter Hadn't Gone Back For Leonhardt and Hoover, Then We Would Have Lost Both The Female and Colossus Titans To The Devils. The Power Of The Titans Is Absolute. That Is Our Axiom" I Turn Around and I Command, "Prepare The Warrior Unit To Charge"

A Soldier Nods and Answers, "Sir!" Colt Narrows His Eyes and Yells, "Commander Magath! You!" I Look At Him and Say, "I What Eldian? Aren't You All Warriors Who Have Pledged Your Loyalty To Marley? This Is Your Chance To Be Honoured By Our Motherland. All Eight Hundred Eldians Here. You Warrior Cadets Stand By Here. The Warrior Unit's Charge Must Destroy Those Tracks No Matter What. Because As Long As That Armoured Train Prowls Around The Perimeter Of The Fort Neither Armor, Armoured Wolf, Female Nor Beast Can Be Called Upon Here." Colt Sighs and Protests, "But…" I Cut Him Off and Say, "Colt. If You Would Inherit The Beast, You Ought To Get Out There and Show Us You're Prepared To Be A Leader"

Gabi's PoV

I Look Over At Commander Magath When I Hear, "Commander Magath! The Train Is Heading This Way!" Commander Magath Smirks and Answers, "So They've Gotten Tired Of Waiting and Have Come To Strike At Us. Good. This Is Our Chance To Destroy The Whole Train." My Eyes Light Up and I Say, "Let Me Do It, Please" Commander Magath Looks At Me and I Show Him The Grenades and I Answer, "I Can Do It. I Can Neutralize The Armoured Train Alone"

Falco Begins To Protest and Commander Magath Answers, "Do You Have Any Idea How Much It's Cost This Country To Train The Bunch Of You? Denied" I Sigh and Continue, "True, I Am A Gifted Talent, Unlike The Rest Of Them. I Doubt You'll Ever See Another Warrior Quite So Exceptional, Except Your Daughter Of Course. I Trained To Bee Like Commander Redwolf Every Day and I Heard The Stories From My Auntie About How Her Mother Destroyed A Bunker With Just A Hand Grenade and How Commander Redwolf Took An Entire Enemy Fleet With A Combat Knife When She Was A Candidate"

Commander Magath Nods and Answers, "Yes. Arya Did Do That. Danielle Followed In Her Footsteps In Being A Daredevil. If You Succeed?" I Look Up At Him and I Say, "If I Succeed, You Won't Have To Lose The 800-Person Warrior Unit." He Looks Down At Me and Asks, "and If You Fail?" Gabi Smirks and Answers, "You'll Lose One Promising Warrior Candidate and Seven Hand Grenades. Well I Guess That Doesn't Work If I'm Worth More Than Eight-Hundred Person Unit But Commander, Sir, If You're Prepared To Sacrifice 800 Soldiers Just 'Cause You Love Me So Much, Then…" He Cuts Me Off and Answers, "Fine. Go" Falco Protests and I Say, "I Will Prove To You That I Am The Warrior Worthy Of Inheriting The Armour"

I Begin Taking Off My Uniform and Commander Magath Asks, "What Are You Doing?" I Look At Him and I Say, "I Need To Do This For The Plan To Work. Please Allow Me To Take Off My Armband, Just Form Now" Magath Nods and Answers, "Fine With Me" I Climb Up The Side Of The Trench and I Hear Falco Yell, "Gabi!" I Look At Him With A Smirk and I Run Off After Tying The Grenades To My Foot. I Raise My Hands As I Walk Up To The Bunker and I See Them Chatting Among Themselves.

I Flop To The Floor, Slapping My Face In The Process and I Murmur, "Not Yet, Not Yet..." The Train Gets Closer and I Yell, "Now! Here's My Chance!" I Throw The Grenades and It Lands On The Track and The Train Explodes. I Jump Up and I Begin Sprinting Back Towards The Trench.

The Gun Begins Firing At Me and I See Falco Running At Me and I Dive Into A Trench and Falco Does The Same and A Shadow Covers Us.

I Land In The Trench and I Look Up and I See The Jaw Titan Looking Down At Us. I Grin and Yell, "Galliard!" The Titan Nods With A Grunt and It Leaps Towards The Bunker and Crushes It.

Danielle's PoV

I Stand By The Door Of The Blimp With Annie Next To Me and I Hear, "We Have Confirmation That The Armoured Train Is Out Of Commission. Still, Be Aware That Loads Of Fixed Anti-Titan Artillery Await You Inside The Fort. The Airborne Operation Will Now Begin. Remember, Stick To The Plan. Annie and Zeke Will Be Our Spear and Danielle and Reiner Will Be Our Shield."

The Back Of The Blimp Opens and The Eldians Jump Out. I Smirk, My Thirst For Combat Pumping In My Veins and Annie Looks At Me and Says, "Watch My Back Out There" I Nod and Say, "Always" I Look At Zeke and He Screams.

I Watch As The Airborne Unit Turns Into Titans and They Land Inside The Fort. I Peck Annie's Lips and I Say, "See You On The Flipside, Beautiful!" and I Follow Reiner Out Of The Blimp.

I Glide Down Next To Him and Reiner Says, "The Kinetic Bombardment Was Suitably Powerful But Sixty Percent Of Them Died From The Impact Of The Fall Due To Excessive Altitude. May Of The Anti-Titan Artillery Units Are Still Functional" I Look At Him and Ask, "How Many" Reiner Counts and He Answers, "28… No 2. Location and Number Confirmed. Still Another Wall?" I Groan and Answer, "I've Had Enough Of Walls Already!" and We Both Transform.

We Begin Taking Down The Anti-Titan Artillery and I Get Hit In The Shoulder By One Of The Rounds. I Growl and Porco Jumps Over Me and Takes Them Out. Annie Drops Down With Zeke and Zeke Asks, "Isn't War A Terrible Thing?" I Smirk and Zeke Picks Up Some Rounds and Throws Them At The Ships.

They All Explode and I Hear The Whistling Of Seven Anti-Titan Shells. I Stand In Front Of Annie and Six Of Them Pummel Into My Chest While The Seventh Hits Reiner. I Drop To The Floor With A Low Growl and I Pass Out After I Am Pulled From My Titan.

 _ **With The Annihilation Of Their Fleet, The Mid-East Allied Forces Signed A Peace Treaty With Marley. After Four Long Years, The War Ended With Marley Standing Victorious, Yet They Now Knew That The Age When All Were Ruled By The Power Of The Titans Was Coming To An End. Marley Realized That It Needed To Acquire The Power Of The Founding Titan As Soon As Possible.**_


	34. Chapter 34 - Season 2

**The Devils Inside Season 2 – Chapter 8 – Home Again**

 **Two Months After Chapter 7**

Reiner's PoV

I Wake Up With A Gasp Of, "Wait..." and I Hear, "It Sounded Like You Were Having A Nice Dream So I Decided Not To Wake You Up" I Look To My Side and I See Galliard, Sat At The Desk.

I Rub My Face and I Say, "I Still Haven't Given You My Thanks For Earlier, Galliard. I Owe You One" He Wipes The Crumbs Off His Face and He Answers, "No, You Don't. It Wasn't You Who I Saved. I Was Protecting Danielle From Being Killed and I Saved My Motherland Of Marley From Losing The Armour As A Result Of You Screwing Up and Anyway, None Of This Ever Would Have Happened If They Chose Me For The Paradis Operation Nine Years Ago and Let Me Inherit The Armour. My Brother Never Would Have Protected You Before Getting Himself Eaten By A Random Titan"

I Nod and Say, "Oh Yeah. Danielle Is Really Fond Of Reminding Me Of That" Galliard Nods and Answers, "and So She Should, You Pathetic Fuck" I Roll My Eyes and I Ask, "Anyway, Could You See Marcel's Memories?" He Shakes His Head and Answers, "No. I Haven't Gotten To See You Run Off and Abandon Him Yet, Unfortunately But I Was Able To Understand A Bit About My Predecessor, That Woman Named Ymir. A Pathetic Woman Who'd Been Given A Grand Name. She Volunteered To Give Back Marcel's Jaws, Didn't She?" I Nod and Answer, "Yeah. She Did"

Porco Looks At Me Out Of The Corner Of His Eye and He Asks, "So? What Did You Even Do On The Island? You Just Got Rescued By One Person After The Next" I Nod and Answer, "Yeah" Porco Turns In His Chair and He Points Out, "I Saw You Through Her Memories. What Was With You? You Were Acting Like You Were Some Kind Of Strong, Reliable Figure. It Was Almost Like You Were Trying To Imitate Marcel."

I Nod and Say, "You're Exactly Right, Galliard. Everything You're Saying Is Exactly Right" He Narrows His Eyes and The Door Opens and I Hear, "Pock. You Shouldn't Be Bullying Someone Who Just Took Artillery Fire" Galliard Sighs and Answers, "But He Only Took One Round Where As Danielle Took At Least Six. She Is In Worse Shape Than Him and Anyway, Didn't I Tell You Not To Call Me By That Name, Pieck? Only Danielle, Annie and Bertholdt Can Call Me That" I Look At Pieck and I Ask, "Are You Okay?" She Nods and Answers, "It's Been Two Months Since The Last Time I Turned Back Into A Human. I Forget How To Walk On Two Legs Every Time This Happens. Anyway, Reiner. If You're Able To Get Up and Move Around Already, You Ought To Show Your Face To Gabi and The Others. They Were Really Worried About You" I Nod, and I Say, "I Think I Will" and I Walk Out Of The Room.

Porco's PoV

I Take A Sip Of My Drink As I Hear Pieck Murmur, "Easy Does It" She Lands On Her Bed With A Soft Thump and She Groans, "I'm Tired" I Turn To Look At Her and I Comment, "It Feels Like I Haven't Seen You In Forever" Pieck Chuckles and Answers, "What? We Were Together The Whole Time On That Battlefield" I Nod, and I Say, "Well, At Least You'll Be Able To Rest For A While" She Nods and Answers, "I Hope So" I Turn Around and I Say, "How Is Danielle Doing?" Pieck Sighs and Answers, "Still Unconscious. Every Hour That Goes By, Annie Is Breaking Even More" I Sigh, and I Say, "This Never Would Have Happened If I Inherited The Armour" Pieck Rolls Her Eyes and Answers, "Well You Didn't. 'If' Won't Bring Our Lost Loved Ones Back, Porco. You Know That Better Than Anyone" I Nod, and I Say, "I Know. I'm Going To Hang Out With Annie and Danielle. You Coming?" She Nods and Answers, "Yeah. We Don't Get Another Chance Like This" I Nod and We Both Walk Out Of The Room and Towards Danielle and Annie's Room.

Danielle's PoV

I Wake Up With A Groan and I Hear, "Danielle?" I Open My Eyes and I See Worried Eyes Staring At Me. I Smile Slightly, Aware Of The Pain In My Side and My Chest and I Say, "Hey, Annie" She Brushes My Hair Out Of My Face and Answers, "You Scared Me, You Idiot" I Caress Her Face With My Hand and I Say, "I'm Still Here and I Always Will Be" She Nods and Leans Down and Captures My Lips.

I Kiss Back and The Door Opens and I Hear A Groan Of, "Oh Lord Have Mercy On My Virgin Eyes" Annie Pulls Away and I Chuckle, "Hey Pokko" I Sit Up and I Say, "I Want To Go For A Walk. You Guys Coming?" Annie Nods and Answers, "Just To Keep You Out Of Trouble" I Smile and I Pull On My Uniform and We Walk Out Of The Building With Porco and Pieck Following Behind.

After We Walk Around Town For A While, We Walk Back To The Train and On The Way There, A Gold Engagement Band Catches My Eye. I Smile and I Walk Up To The Stall and I Say, "Can I Have That, Please?" The Stall Keeper Nods and Passes Me The Ring and I Pass Him The Money and I Walk Back Over To The Others After Thanking Him.

I Shove It In My Pocket and Annie Asks, "What Did You Buy Now?" I Kiss Her Forehead and I Answer, "Nothing Beautiful" I Hear A Train Horn and I Say, "We Better Go" They Nod and We Walk Towards The Train.

 **In The Train**

I Sit In The Marleyan Carriage With Annie, Porco, Pieck, My Father and A Few Older Soldiers and I Hear Colt Yelling. I Rub My Head and I Hear, "Commander. We Should Shut Them Up" Father Shakes His Head and Answers, "Let's Look The Other Way. Give Them This One Night"

I Groan Softly and Father Looks Up and Asks, "Are You Alright Darling?" I Nod and Say, "I'm Fine, Father. I Just Can't Wait To Get Home and Curl Up In My Own Bed" Father Smiles and Answers, "and You Will. So, When Can I Expect Grandchildren" I Raise A Brow and I Stammer, "Grandchildren? F-Father…." Annie Cuts Me Off and Answers, "We Haven't Thought That Far Ahead Yet"

Father Chuckles and Answers, "I Was Only Messing With You. Now Get Some Rest. It'll Be A Long While Before We're Home" I Nod and I Lie Down On The Chair and I Rest My Head In Annie's Lap As She Plays With My Hair and I Fall Asleep.

 **Back At Liberio**

I Walk Out Of The Train and I Hear, "We Made It Back Alive! Our Beloved Home Town! Liberio! We're Home!" Colt Groans and Mumbles, "Gabi Please, I Told You Not To Yell" Porco Chuckles, "and I've Told You Not To Drink So Much, Light-Weight" Falco Looks Up At His Brother and Asks, "Who Let You Have Liquor, Colt" Pieck Pipes Up and Answers, "Colt Looked Like He Wanted Some" Zeke Nods and Answers, "and He Played Right Into Your Hands Pieck. I Can't Believe He Actually Vomited All Over The Train" Father Nods and Answers, "We Really Should Have Shut Them Up Last Night"

I Rub My Eyes and We Walk Through The Streets Of Liberio, Towards HQ and We Walk Through The Gates. My Eyes Run Over The Crowd and I Nudge Annie When I Spot Her Father and I Say, "Go On. I'll Be Right Here" Annie Presses A Kiss To My Lips and She Pulls Away and Sprints Off Towards Her Father, Tackling The Older Male In A Hug.

I Sigh When I Don't See My Mother and Zeke Answers, "General Redwolf Is A Busy Woman, Danielle. You Know This" I Nod, and I Say, "Yeah, I Know" I Hear Someone Clear Their Throat and I Look Up and I See Mr Leonhardt.

I Gulp, and He Says, "Thank You For Taking Care Of My Daughter and Bringing Her Home" I Nod, and I Say, "Of Course. I Was Ready To Die For Her" He Rests His Hand On My Shoulder and He Answers, "If You Ever Think About Popping The Question Then You Have My Blessing" I Blush Hard and I Hear, "Father!" I Grin and Annie Whines, "Stop Teasing Her" I Chuckle and Mr Leonhardt Smiles and Answers, "I'm Not Teasing Her. I'm Simply Telling My Future Daughter In Law That She Has My Blessing" He Walks Off and I Hear, "Danielle! Annie!" My Eyes Widen and A Smile Breaks Out On My Face When I See Bertholdt.

He Runs At Us and Captures Us In A Hug and He Cries, "I Missed You So Much!" I Hug Him Back and I Say, "I Missed You Too Bert" He Looks Us Over and Asks, "Did You Get Hurt?!" I Shrug, and I Say, "I Just Took Six Anti-Titan Shells. It's No Big Deal" Annie Punches Me and Growls, "No Big Deal? You Could Have Died, and You Were Unconscious For Two Months!" I Kiss Her Head and Bertholdt Answers, "Well At Least You're Both Alright. Now I'm Going To Say Hi To My Man" I Chuckle and He Walks Off After Bidding Us Goodbye.

Dad Walks Over and He Kisses My Forehead With A Smile and I Look Away. He Looks At Annie and Says, "You Did A Good Job Out There On That Battlefield, Vice-Commander Leonhardt" Annie Raises A Brow and Asks, "Vice-Commander?" Father Nods and Answers, "Danielle Is Commander So I Thought, Why Not Make You Vice-Commander"

I Squeeze Her Hand and Annie Breathes, "Thank You Sir" He Nods and Answers, "Your Welcome" He Pulls Away and Answers, "Well I Have To Get Back To Work" He Passes Me A Set Of Keys and Answers, "These Are A Set Of Keys To A House South Of The HQ" He Drops Them In My Hand and Walks Off.

Annie Jokes, "I Hope He Isn't Expecting Grandkids Yet" I Turn Back To Her and I Say, "Hell, I'm Surprised That You'd Even Be Willing To Have Kids" Annie Wraps Her Arms Around My Waist and She Answers, "As Long As Their Yours and Not Some Other Marleyans Then Yeah. I'd Be Willing To Have Kids" I Kiss Her Head and I Say, "Let's Go and Check Out This House and Then We'll Go Looking For A Cat" Annie Nods and Answers, "Now That Is A Plan I Can Get Behind" I Take Her Hand and We Begin Walking Towards The House.

 _ **At The House**_

I Push Open The Door and I Say, "Isn't Becoming A Mother At 17 A Bit Risky? I Mean, What Age Did Your Mother Become Pregnant With You?" Annie Crosses Her Arms and Answers, "The Same Age As Yours. 25" I Hum, and I Say, "You Know I Won't Force You, Babe" Annie Nods and Answers, "I Know But I Want To Leave Some Type Of Mark On The World Before I Am Taken From It"

I Press A Kiss To Her Head and I Say, "Hey, You Know I'm Working On That" I Close The Door Behind Her and Annie Answers, "Yeah But I Doubt That There Is Any Way To Stop The Curse" I Shrug, and I Say, "There Has To Be Something In My Ancestors Memories, Right?" Annie Shrugs and Replies, "True" I Wrap My Arms Around Her Waist and I Say, "It All Depends On Your Choice. If You Want To Have Kids, Then We'll Have Kids. If You Don't Then We Won't" Annie Looks Up At Me and Asks, "Can I Even Have Kids?"

I Hum and Say, "I Should Think So" Annie Nods and Answers, "Let's Wait A Few Weeks. I Want To Get Settled In First Before We Do Anything" I Kiss Her Head and I Say, "Sounds Like A Plan" I Rub My Eyes and I Walk Into The Kitchen To Get A Drink and I Ask, "Annie?" I Hear Her Call, "Yeah?" From The Living-Room and I Ask, "Are We Going To Have Dinner With Your Parents?" She Walks Towards Me and Answers, "Yeah. Why?" I Shrug, and I Say, "No Reason. Shall We Go?" Annie Nods and I Take Her Hand and We Walk Out Of The House.

We Walk Through The Streets That We Trekked Through As Kids and I Breathe In and I Say, "We're Finally Home" Annie Squeezes My Hand and Answers, "and I Couldn't Be Happier" I Smile and We Walk Up To The Gate That Leads Into The Internment Zone.

Rupert's Eyes Widen and He Nudges Percy Who Looks Up and He Gasps, "Holy Shit! Danielle! Annie! We Haven't Seen Ya Two Since Ya Were Little Kids!" I Laugh, and I Say, "It's Nice To See Guys Too" Annie Smiles and Rupert Grins and Exclaims, "She Smiled! Annie Smiled!" I Smile Down At My Girlfriend and Percy Puts Two and Two Together and He Says, "Ohhhhh. You Two Are Together!"

I Grin and Say, "Yep. We Have Been Going Strong For 3 Years." Rupert Smiles and Answers, "Congratulations" We Both Thank Him and I Dig Into My Pocket For My ID When Percy Places His Hand Up and He Answers, "No Need. You Two Can Go In Whenever Ya Like" I Smile, and I Say, "Thanks" They Both Nod and We Walk Through The Gate.

I Stop and Annie Looks At Me With A Raised Brow. I Crouch Down and A Grin Breaks Out On Annie's Face and She Climbs On My Back and I Keep My Hands Under Her Legs and I Begin Walking To Her Parent's House. Once We Get To Her Parent's House, I Place Her Down and She Knocks On The Door.

I Smile When Her Mother Opens The Door and She Gasps, "Annie!" Annie Smiles and Answers, "Hi Mother" She Pulls Her Daughter Into A Hug and She Looks At Me and Asks, "I'll Be Damned. Danielle Redwolf Is That You?" I Hold My Hands Out With A Grin and I Say, "In The Flesh Mrs L" She Pulls Away From Her Daughter and Rests A Hand On My Cheek and Asks, "Did Those Devils Feed You Right?" I Shrug, and I Say, "The Donuts Were Alright" Mrs L Nods and Answers, "Alright. Come In and I'll Give You Two A Proper Feed" Annie Takes My Hand and I Kiss Her Forehead. Her Mother Walks In and I Say, "After You, Princess" Annie Rolls Her Eyes and She Walks In and I Follow.

Mr Leonhardt Smiles and We Both Sit Down At The Table and Mrs Leonhardt Places Some Food On The Table. I Smile and Mr Leonhardt Asks, "So Can You Expose Any Details On What Happened On That Island?" I Nod, and I Say, "Yeah. We Can" Mrs Leonhardt Sits Down Next To Her Husband and Asks, "So What Happened?" I Lean Back On My Chair and I Say, "Well We Both Got Shot For One"

Annie Hits Me and Answers, "We Said That We Wouldn't Tell Them That!" Mr Leonhardt Raises A Brow and Asks, "Shot?" I Nod, and I Say, "Yeah. I Protected Annie From The Bullets But Apparently That Wasn't Enough Because One Of The Bullets Went Straight Through Me and Hit Annie. I Was Shot A Second Time, Directly In The Side Of The Chest Because I Moved"

Annie Silently Eats Her Food and Mr Leonhardt Asks, "You Protected Annie From Those Bullets?" I Nod, and I Answer, "I've Protected Annie From Titans, Bullets, ODM Blades and Now Anti-Titan Shells. I Will Put Myself In Harms Way If It Means That Annie Will Leave The Battlefield Unscathed"

He Nods and Mrs Leonhardt Asks, "So Have You Two Spoken About Having Kids Yet?" I Swallow Hard and I Look At Annie Who Looks Back At Me and I Say, "We Have Spoken About It and We Have Decided To Wait For A Few Weeks" Annie Nods and Answers, "I'm Not Sure If We Will Get Around To It Though As Danielle Is Beginning Her Work On A Very Big Project"

Mr Leonhardt Raises A Brow and Asks, "Project?" I Nod, and I Answer, "Yeah. I'm Going To Be Hunting Through The Memories Of My Ancestors To Find A Cure For The Curse Of Ymir. That Way If We Do Have Kids, Then They Won't Become Titan Shifters Until We Die Of Old Age" Mr Leonhardt Looks At Me and Asks, "Can You Do It Within Two Years?" I Nod, and I Say, "I Can Do It Within One. I'm A Clever Girl, I'm Sure I Can Piece The Puzzle Together Within A Few Months and Then Make The Cure" Mr Leonhardt Nods and We Eat Out Food In A Comfortable Silence With The Occasional Small Talk.

After Dinner, Mr Leonhardt Checks His Watch and Asks, "What Time Are You Two Leaving?" I Hum, and I Say, "Well I Was Going To Take Annie To The Pet Store In Town. She's Become Quite A Fan Of Cats" Mr Leonhardt Nods and Answers, "Well Then, You Two Better Get Going" Annie Smiles and Jokes, "Father, It Sounds Like You Are Trying To Get Rid Of Us" He Pokes Annie's Nose and Answers, "Well You, Little Missy, Don't Live Here Anymore, Now Do You?"

Annie Kisses Her Parents On The Cheek and Both Her Parents Pull Me Into A Hug and I Walk Out Of The Door After Bidding Them Goodbye and I Hear, "We Will Be Coming Over Every Week!" I Turn Around and Mr Leonhardt Jokes, "I'm Locking The Doors" Annie Giggles and Her Father Kisses Her Forehead and Ruffles Her Hair.

She Groans and Sets It Back Into Place and Then Walks Over To Me. We Both Wave Goodbye To Her Parents and We Walk Towards The Pet Store. We Walk Out With A Black Cat With Blue Eyes and I Say, "He Likes You" Annie Giggles As The Cat Licks Her Cheek and She Answers, "He Likes You Too" The Cat Purrs As I Scratch Its Ears and I Say, "Yes He Does" We Begin The Long Trek Home.

I Unlock, and Push Open The Door and Annie Places The Cat On The Floor and I Flip On The Lights. The Cat Stretches and I Say, "He's Probably Going To Make His Home On Our Bed" Annie Nods and Answers, "Yeah. So, What Are We Going To Call Him?" I Hum, and I Say, "How About Titan" Annie Chuckles and Calls, "Come Here Titan" The Cat Trots Over and I Say, "He Knows His Name" I Stroke His Ear and He Rubs Himself Against Annie's Leg.

I Yawn, and I Hear, "Tired?" I Nod, and I Say, "Yeah. You Coming?" Annie Nods and We Walk Into Our Bedroom. I Pull Off My Uniform and I Climb Into Bed. I Swallow Hard As Annie Begins Changing. Annie Turns Her Head With A Smirk and Asks, "Are You Alright, Babe?" I Nod Slowly and I Stammer, "Y-Yeah. I-Im Good" Annie Chuckles and Climbs Into Bed Next To Me. I Pull Her Into Me and She Nuzzles Into Me. Titan Curls Up At The End Of The Bed and I Press A Kiss To Annie's Forehead and I Murmur, "I Love You" She Smiles and Murmurs, "I Love You Too" and We Both Fall Asleep.


	35. Chapter 35 - Season 2

**The Devils Inside – Season 2 – Chapter 9 – I Won't Let Him Hurt You Again**

Danielle's PoV

I Walk Towards My Mother's Office and I Knock On The Door. I Hear A Frustrated "Come In" From The Other Side Of The Door and I Push It Up and I Say, "I Could Come Back Later, Mother" Mother's Head Snaps Up and She Gasps, "Danielle? Is That You?" I Nod, and I Ask, "Didn't Father Tell You That I Was Home?" Mother Shakes Her Head and Answers, "No" She Stands Up and She Walks Over To Me and Rests A Hand On My Cheek and Turns My Head To Check Me Over.

I Sigh, and I Answer, "Mrs Leonhardt Has Already Done That To Me" Mother Laughs and Answers, "I'm Not Surprised. You've Been Gone For Four Years and Ilia Has Always Had A Soft Spot For You" I Nod, and I Say, "Yeah…. About The Paradis Island Operation…." Mother Cocks Her Head To The Side and Asks, "What About It?" I Look Away, Afraid Of The Disappointment That Will Show In My Mothers Eyes and I Say, "We Failed. We Couldn't Capture The Founder" I Clench My Eyes Closed As A Hand Comes In Contact With My Cheek and Mother Snaps, "You Had One Fucking Job!" I Look At Her With Pain In My Eyes and I Turn On My Heels and I Storm Out Of The Room, Ignoring The Soft, "Wait" That Reaches My Ears.

I Shove Past Father Who Grabs My Arm and Asks, "Danielle? What Happened?" I Look Away From Him and I Say, "Mother… She Hit Me." Father Stiffens and He Answers, "I'll Deal With Your Mother. Go Home and Get Some Ice Put On That" I Nod and He Lets Go Of Me and I Walk Home, Aware Of The Glances That Get Sent My Way.

 **At The House**

I Walk Into The House and I Wince As The Throbbing In My Cheek Begins To Intensify and I Walk Into The Kitchen and I Pull Out A Bag Of Ice and I Rest It On My Cheek. I Walk Into The Living Room and I Sit On The Couch and I Feel Something Brush My Leg. I Look Down and I See Titan. I Smile and Say, "Hey Buddy. Are You Alright?" Titan Meows and He Jumps On The Couch and Curls Onto My Lap, Where He Makes Himself Comfortable. I Smile and I Carefully Lie On My Back and I Rest My Arm Over My Eyes As The Throbbing In My Face Dies Down.

After A Few Minutes, I Hear The Door Unlock, Signalling That Annie Is Home. Titan Jumps Off My Stomach and I Hear Annie Gush, "Hey Buddy" She Walks Into The Living Room and I Look Up Weakly and I Say, "Hey Babe" Annie Raises A Brow and Answers, "You're Home Early" I Shrug and Annie Asks, "What Happened?" I Look Away and Annie Repeats, "What Happened?" With A Stern Tone To Her Voice.

I Look Into Her Eyes and With A Sigh, I Sit Up and I Remove The Ice Pack From My Face To Reveal The Bruise On My Face. Annie's Eyes Widen As She Rushes To My Side. She Brushes Her Thumb Over It Carefully and Asks, "Who Hit You?" I Shake My Head and I Say, "It Doesn't Matter" Annie Turns Me To Look At Her and She Answers, "It Does Matter. Now Who Hit You?" I Sigh and Mumble, "My Mother" I See Annie's Eyes Narrow With Anger Blazing In Them and I Say, "Annie. You Can't Go and Hurt My Mother. She's The Fucking General For Fucks Sake"

I Let My Titan's Healing Take Over and Steam Flows Off The Side Of My Face and Annie Kisses My Nose and Answers, "I Saw Reiner In Town Earlier" I Raise A Brow and Ask, "So? Did That Fuck Get Pummelled Into Oblivion?" Annie Shakes Her Head and Answers, "No. I Saw Him Making Out With Some Guy That Wasn't Bertholdt" My Spine Goes Rigid With Anger and I Growl, "What?" Annie Stands Up and Answers, "He's Cheating On Bert" I Stand Up With A Growl and I Make A Move To Leave When Annie Says, "If You Come Then I'm Coming Too" I Nod, and I Say, "Alright" and We Walk Out Of The House.

 **A Few Minutes Later**

I Find Reiner Making Out With The Guy In An Alley Way and I Grab Him By The Scruff Of The Shirt and I Throw Him Into A Wall. Reiner Groans and I Glare At His Boy Toy Who Runs Off. I Turn Back To Reiner and He Asks, "Oh Danielle… Annie. What Brings You Here?" I Pick Him Up By The Scruff Of The Neck and I Bark, "Cheating On Bert?! What The Fuck Were You Thinking?!"

Reiner's Eyes Widen and He Answers, "I…It's…. It's Not Like That!" I Tighten My Grip On Him and I Snarl, "It's Exactly Like That! You Know How Fragile He Is!" I Lift My Fist and Reiner Holds His Hands Up and Whimpers, "Don't Hit Me" I Glare At Him and I Ask, "and Why Shouldn't I?!"

Reiner Whimpers and He Answers, "Because Killing Me Will Mean That You Have Betrayed Marley" I Punch Him and I Snarl, "We Are Going To Bertholdt's House and You Are Going To Tell Him The Truth Or You Will Be Stripped Of Your Rank and Stripped Of The Armour!" Reiner Nods In Defeat and I Throw Him Down and I Grab Him By The Hair and I Drag Him Through The Back Streets, Towards Bertholdt's House.

 **At Bertholdt's House**

I Knock On The Door and The Door Opens. Bertholdt Raises A Brow and Asks, "What Is It? Reiner? What Happened To You?" Bertholdt Rushes To His Side and Reiner Flinches Away From His Touch and I Snarl, "Tell Him, Braun. Before I Do"

Bertholdt Looks Between Us and Asks, "Tell Me What?" Reiner Looks At Bert and Answers, "I Cheated On You and You Know What? I'm Not Even Sorry Ab-" He Gets Cut Off My Bertholdt Slamming His Fist Into His Face. The Force Knocks Reiner Over and Bertholdt Jumps On Him and Slams His Fist Into Reiner's Face Repeatedly.

After A Few Minutes, I Pull Bertholdt Off Of Him and I Hear, "What Is Going On Here?!" I Look Up and I See Father and Mother. I Glare At Reiner and I Say, "This Asshole Can't Keep His Dick In His Pants. He's Cheated On Bertholdt" Bertholdt Cries Harder Into My Neck and I Rub His Back Comfortingly and Father Helps Reiner Up and He Answers, "Go Home, Reiner"

Bertholdt Turns Around and As Reiner Walks Off He Yells, "Don't Fucking Speak To Any Of Us Again, You Asshole!" Reiner Flips Him Off and I Pull Bertholdt Back Into A Comforting Embrace.

Father Sighs and Answers, "Danielle? Can Bertholdt Stay With You For A While? He Isn't In A Good Way" I Look At Annie and She Nods and Answers, "Of Course He Can" Bertholdt Nods and He Sniffs, "I'll Get Some Of My Stuff" I Nod and Father and Mother Walk Off and Bertholdt Walks Into His House.

After A Few Minutes, I Hear Something Smash and I Dart Into The House and I Ask, "Bert?" I Hear His Cries and My Heart Breaks At The Sound. I Walk Into The Kitchen To See Him Surrounded By Smashed Glass and Blood. The Glass Crunches Under My Boots and I Say, "Come On Bert. Let's Go" He Nods and I Help Him Up and He Climbs On My Back and I Hoist Him Up.

I Grab His Bag and I Walk Out Of The House. I Pull A Rag Out Of My Pockets and I Tear It and I Tie It Around His Bleeding Hands After Checking That There Isn't Glass In Them and We Begin Walking Back To Our House.

 **At The House**

Annie Pushes The Door Open and I Take Bertholdt Up To The Spare Room and I Place Him On The Bed and I Say, "I'll Run You A Bath. Alright?" He Nods and Chokes, "Okay" Through His Tears and I Walk Into The Bathroom and I Run Him A Bath.

I Lean On The Tub and I Feel A Hand Rub My Back. I Sigh and Annie Asks, "Are You Alright, Love?" I Shake My Head and I Say, "I Hate Seeing Him Like That. His Uncontrollable Crying, Breaks Me" Annie Nods and Answers, "I Know. I Hate It Too" I Stop The Water and Annie Answers, "I'll Go and Make Something For Dinner While You Get Bertholdt Ready." I Shake My Head and I Answer, "Invite Nikolo Over. He Won't Mind Doing It. He Owes Me A Favour Or Two Anyway" Annie Nods and I Kiss Her Forehead and She Walks Downstairs.

I Walk Into Bertholdt's Room and I Say, "Bath's Ready Bud" He Nods and He Stands Up and Walks To The Bathroom. I Wait Outside The Door While He Strips and I Hear The Bath Water Slosh Around and I Hear, "Danielle?" I Peek My Head In and I Answer, "Yeah?" Bertholdt Looks Up At Me With His Red and Teary Green Eyes and He Asks, "Can You Sit With Me. I Don't Want To Be Alone" I Nod and Say, "Yeah. I'll Get A Chair From My Office" He Nods and I Walk Into The Room Next Door and I Drag My Chair Into The Bathroom.

I Place It Next To The Bath and He Brings His Knees Up To His Chest and Cries Into Them. I Rub His Shoulder and I Ask, "Do You Want Me To Wash Your Back?" Bertholdt Lets Out A Shaky Breath and Mumbles, "I Don't Want To Be A Bother" I Sigh, and I Say, "Bertholdt, You Aren't A Bother. Now, Do You Want Me To Wash Your Back?" He Nods and Murmurs, "Please" I Nod and I Dip The Wash Cloth In The Bath and I Rub It Over His Back.

Once I Am Finished, I Lift His Head Up and I Wipe Away His Tears and I Wash His Face. I Give Him The Cloth and I Turn Away As He Washes The Rest Of Him. He Clears His Throat and I Run My Fingers Through His Wet Hair To Calm Him and He Sighs Contently and He Asks, "Will The Pain Ever Go Away?" I Nod, and I Say, "It Will Do. But Don't Let That Waste Of Space Get You Down, Bert. You Are An Amazing Person and My Best Friend. Sure, You're A Bit More Sensitive Than Everyone Else But That's Okay. It Makes You Unique" He Smiles At Me With Tears In His Eyes and I Say, "Don't Cry Or You'll Make Me Cry"

He Blinks Them Away and I Hear, "Are You Alright, Bert?" He Nods and Answers, "Yeah. Thanks Annie" Annie Nods and Answers, "It Was The Least We Could Do" I Stand Up and I Say, "I'll Go and Get Your Clothes. I'll Be Back In A Second" Bertholdt Nods and I Walk Out and Into His Room. I Unzip His Bag and I Grab Him A Pair Of Boxers and Some Pyjamas and I Walk Back Into The Bathroom.

Bertholdt Climbs Out, Holding A Hand Over His Crotch and I Wrap A Towel Around Him and I Rub It Over His Head With A Giggle. A Hearty Laugh Leaves His Throat and I Say, "There's The Bertholdt That I Know and Love!" Annie Grins and Bertholdt Dries Himself and I Pass Him His Clothes and We Walk Out As He Gets Dressed.

Bertholdt Walks Down A Few Seconds Later and A Knock At The Door Sounds. I Smile, and I Ask, "Bertholdt? Will You Help Annie Set The Table While I Get The Food?" He Nods and Happily Walks Downstairs With Annie Following Behind. I Follow and I Walk To The Door and I Pull It Open.

Nikolo Grins and I Say, "Have You Brought The Food?" He Nods and Holds Up A Basket and Answers, "Yep. Fresh Out The Oven" I Smile, and I Say, "Thanks Nikolo" He Nods and Answers, "No Problem" and He Walks Off After I Take The Basket From His Hand. I Close The Door and After Setting The Food Out, We Begin Eating. After Dinner, Bertholdt Heads Up To His Room and Annie and I Go Up To Ours and Be Fall Asleep.

 **The Next Morning**

I Run A Hand Through My Wet Hair As I Walk Downstairs With A Yawn and I Hear, "Morning Danielle" I Smile, and I Say, "Morning Bert. Are You Alright?" He Nods and Answers, "Much Better Thank You. Is Annie Still Asleep?" I Shake My Head and I Say, "She's In The Shower. We Have A Meeting With Zeke Soon" Bertholdt Stiffens and I See His Eyes Glaze Over With Fear.

I Walk Up To Him and I Say, "I Won't Let Him Hurt You Again, Alright?" Because Of Our Height Difference, Bertholdt Looks Up At Me Slightly and He Asks, "Promise?" I Nod, and I Say, "I Promise" Annie Walks Downstairs and Asks, "Ready To Go?" We Both Nod and We Walk Out Of The House and Towards HQ.


	36. AN: Rewrite & Other News

Hey ya'll!

So I wanted to take some time to thank everyone who has read, reviewed and followed this story! As my first big project, all the support I have received on this means the world to me. Now, this A/N is something I have been debating on posting for a long time now and I finally have the courage to do so.

The Devils Inside is getting a rewrite! I know that this one is unfinished but with the new information that the Manga has given out in it's most recent events, I feel like a rewrite is necessary... Also because every time I read this version, I cringe considerably because of a reason that many of you have pointed out, the fact that my dumbass went through the shitty phase of having every damn word capitalised which, I apologise for by the way. Anyway, the first chapter will be up today and I am currently working on the second chapter and I hope that it will be as popular as this fanfiction was for many of you (By many I mean over 3000 people, what the hell? That's insane!)

I apologise for the long ass wait for any updates on my fanfictions but with V7 of RWBY wrapping up soon and my writers block hitting me like a train, I haven't had the time or the motivation to write anything. I also know many of you are expecting updates on fanfictions like 'The Lovers Eclipse' and 'Fifty Shades of Crimson' and I am here to tell you that those will be coming this year, alongside a rewritten version of 'Fifty Shades of Crimson' to fit with my current RWBY OC.

Anyway! I hope ya'll are having a wonderful 2020 so far and as always, if you have any requests for fanfictions then please don't hesitate to shoot me a PM and if you want to find me on any other social medias, they can all be found in the bio for my profile.

Laters

 _ **~ The Atlesian Eagle**_


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